Hypnotizing Helga
by SuprSingr
Summary: Helga's always hid her kinder side. But what happens if she's hypnotized to show her true colors? What will Arnold think of this "new" Helga? Rated to be safe. And for birds. And hobos. Oh, it's just a big mess. But a fun one!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: YAY! My first story! This is basically about Helga getting hypnotized into being _herself_ by accident by some weirdo hypnotist. *Gasp* You'll have to read more to fully understand though! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Me no owny Hey Arnold!**

* * *

**Hypnotizing Helga**

In the immortal words of a very optimistic, young, orange-haired boy, "It was a bright, Beautiful... oooooof... I'm okay." I couldn't have said it better myself. It was a bright, beautiful day! For most at least.

If there was anyone who disagreed with Eugene that day it was Helga Pataki. The meanest, toughest, most brutal girl at PS118. The ruler of the 4th grade. Queen of Mean! Nobody dared to look her in the eye. Well, other than Phoebe. Phoebe had no reason to fear Helga. She knew all about Helga's secrets. Well... most. She knew enough about her to see that she was a lot nicer than she let on. But that was as far as Phoebe had ventured into the world of Helga G. Pataki.

There was only one other who dared take even one step closer to solving the mystery that was Helga. That one other person was a boy, a nine year old! Well now of course he was ten and in the fifth grade. He could see there was more to Helga than some sarcastic, mean, and frankly... RUDE bully. He wanted so badly to crawl inside her head and see what the heck was going on in there. But everytime he got even remotely close to solving her or at least acquiring another piece to the puzzle, she'd push him away. She never opened up, well, that wasn't completely true. She had opened up once...

It was still dark out. The rain fell aggressively onto the hard, thirsty ground. Arnold had gotten fed up. He demanded an explanation for her actions. She had been the mysterious cloaked stranger who haunted the corners of every step he took. She was Deep Voice!

It didn't add up. She hated him! She always did! But what took place on the roof of the FTi building that fateful evening proved otherwise. She had professed her love for him! She told him all about the stalking, the shrines, and all those poems! She told him everything and sealed it with a kiss! But it all seemed too weird. It didn't feel like it was happening.

Once it was all said and done, he gave her a free bee. He allowed her to keep whatever shred of dignity she had left. They agreed it was all in the heat of the moment! But he knew it wasn't, and although it didn't make the least bit of sense to him, he tried to understand it. It didn't make sense at the time. But he had thought about it so much the remainder of the Summer that he was sure he'd not be able to face her. But he couldn't just run away from it. He had to try to understand. He felt like he was still missing a few stray pieces. But he took comfort in the fact that most of the pieces laid before him. All he had to do was get her to open up just a little more. He couldn't stand it anymore! Her confession transformed his... well... it kinda felt like a small hobby on the side of all he held dear, and for some reason, she was one of them. But that little hobby had erupted into an obsession now. He had to understand! He would surely go mad if he didn't get that girl to explain why she was the way she was! He had always believed there was good in everyone, but she was testing him and gosh darn it... he was going to pass that test with flying colors!

It was the first day of school and he knew she'd be there. He felt a strange pain in the pit of his stomach. Call it a hunch, but he knew something weird was going to happen today. You know, something weirder than what usually took place. Like Curly throwing himself at Rhonda and screaming, "You know you love me! MWAHAHAHA!" or Phoebe speaking Japanese early in the morning or Helga yelling sarcastic remarks at Harold right before beating him to a pulp. It was always chaotic at PS118 and everyone knew it. But hey, it was home.

As he took his first few steps outside of his home and out into the warm, crisp morning air, he took a deep breath and began walking to school. He didn't want to ride the bus today. The farther from the object of his thoughts he was the better... for now anyway. He just walked for a while heading in the direction of school. He worried about who their new teacher would be. He had heard rumors that Mr. Simmons had been moved up to the fifth grade, but he couldn't be certain.

Soon he was at the steps of PS118 and he knew that as soon as he opened that door, there would be no going back. He swallowed hard and slowly pushed the door open. Sure enough, there they were. All of his beloved class mates gossiping about the new school year (who was in what class, which teachers were fired, and of course they were talking about all their new back-packs, pencils, books, and all they were going to learn). Arnold walked in looking around for Gerald as he tread through the halls. He didn't see him.

He walked into his new class room and gasped. It looked exactly like the 4th grade class room. It was the same size, shape, and all the desks were arranged the same way they were before. The only real difference you could see was all the new motivational posters hanging on the walls. He felt some comfort in knowing that it wasn't going to be so life changing after all. After coming out of shock he spotted Gerald in the front row chatting with Phoebe about the weather. He looked nervous so Arnold decided he needed a wing-man and trotted over to help him out. Gerald could hear the faint sound of rubber smashing on the floor behind him and turned to see Arnold. He let out a relieved sigh.

"Arnold, my man, can you believe we're in 5th grade?"

"I know, it's weird. But it'll be nice to get a fresh start."

"Oh yes. I'm rather excited to begin our studies." Phoebe interjected happily.

"Yeah! I can't wait to hear about math, science, history, geography... uh... my brain is already getting dizzy thinking about all the stuff we're gonna learn." Gerald replied trying to sound interested.

"Indeed. Arnold, on your walk here, did you happen to see Helga anywhere? She told me over the phone that she was going to get here early so she could deal with some unresolved issues."

"Um... no. I didn't see her. But I'm sure she'll be here soon."

Arnold had been mistaken. Class had started twenty minutes ago and she still wasn't here. Arnold wondered if she was just as scared to face him as he was to face her. But he pushed his thoughts aside when Mr. Simmons... yeah, Mr. Simmons... announced they had a very "Special" guest.

"Students, I have a "special" treat for all of you! He's a professional hypnotist and he's visiting our class today to talk to you all about the joys of hypnotism! Let me introduce Mr. Mantle."

A man in a dark cloak stepped into the room. He had shiny black hair and bright green eyes. His face didn't have a single wrinkle. He was obviously still very young. Somewhere in his twenties.

"Thank you for the introduction, but please, my stage name is Mr. Hypno. I rarely go by Mantle. I used to though. I even had this cool slogan, 'If you can't handle the mantle, get off the stage.'" He looked a little embarrassed."It wasn't as catchy as I had hoped."

"Oh well I'm sorry, Mr... um... Hypno."

"It's fine. Now children." He began as he proceeded to the front of the room as went and took a seat back in his desk. "I would like to start off by explaining to you that hypnotism is not a toy. It's a very serious and sometimes therapeutic thing that should not be tampered with unless you're a professional like me. I hope you all understand, because now I would like to demonstrate. Any volunteers?"

The second after the last word escaped his lips, Helga flew the door open angrily. She scowled at any who dared to make eye contact as she entered the room. She was wearing her usual attire and she even had her hair up in two gravity defying pig-tails that would surely scream at any who questioned their golden blonde color, but something seemed different about her. She looked the same way she always had, but she seemed a lot more bitter and angry. She had clearly woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Before Mr. Simmons could question her tardiness she had already laid out an explanation.

"My sister wouldn't let me leave the house until she told me all about her adventures in Alaska this morning." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, okay Helga, I'll let you off the hook this time, since it's the first day of school, but please don't let it happen again."

"Please, like I can control my sisters big mouth after it's starts going on and on about how she's teaching a bunch of dumb kids in Alaska. Figures a bunch of Alaskan dorks need a teacher, their brains probably have frost bite."

The class snickered at her response.

"Well, please take a seat."

"Whatever."

She began her long tread over to her desk but was stopped abruptly by a man in a cloak.

"Who in the name of criminy are you?"

"I am Mr. Hypno! I have come to demonstrate hypnotism and I would like you to be my volunteer."

"If I let you do your mumbo-jumbo hypno crap on me will you leave me alone?"

"If you wish."

"Okay, fine. What do I have to do?"

He smiled and gestured her over to a chair he had placed in the front of the room. She scoffed as she walked over to chair and scoffed again as she sat down.

"Okay! I require complete and udder silence! So no one's to say a word till I say it's OK."

He gave the class a quick smirk before continuing. He waved a watch in front of her face and whispered silently in her ear. He snapped his fingers and she fell fast asleep. The children silently 'ooooohed' and 'aaaaahed' at this. Then he searched the room for someone who looked honest. He settled on a football-headed boy with crazy blonde hair in the front row and approached him. He whispered into his ear.

"What would be the strangest thing to see this girl do?"

Arnold contemplated this and finally answered. The man snickered slightly at what the boy told him then walked over the the girl and announced.

"When I clap my hands you will be a sweet, little girl." He clapped his hands. "When I snap my fingers you will awaken." He snapped his fingers and sure enough, her eyes flew open instantly. She seemed a little confused and asked sweetly.

"Um... what's going on?"

"Young girl, would you mind kissing that blonde boy on the cheek? Just to prove you're as sweet as honey."

She smiled at that remark and did as he said. She skipped over to Arnold's desk and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. He was a little freaked out by the sudden kiss. He hadn't wanted for him to be the test to see if she was nice or not. But it was over in a flash and she skipped back over to him. The class gasped! Helga G. Pataki had been turned into a little, sweet girl! Most of the class wished she could have stayed that way. But it would be wrong to just kill Helga off like that.

"That was very sweet of you." He said kindly toward the young girl.

"Well thank you, but I do believe that you should return me to normal now."

"As you wish." he replied as he gestured her back into the chair.

She smiled softly and sat back in the chair with a big smile on her face.

The class was still in awe at what had just taken place. Arnold rubbed his cheek almost happily. He couldn't explain it, but he liked the feel of a sweet Helga's lips on his cold cheek. She had kissed him softly, and sadly... quickly. He sat his head in his hands and gazed in disappointment at what was taking place. Mr. Hypno had just snapped his fingers and she had instantly returned to dream land. He pondered how he should phrase the next thing he would say. He needed to get it right.

"When I clap my hands you will return to your true colors! There is no need to hide your true self anymore!" He clapped directly after this statement.

"Now when I snap my fingers you will awaken."

She stirred and yawned stretching.

"Wow, I feel great. I feel like I just took a long nap." Helga said with a smile.

"Yeah, most do. Thank you for your service Mrs... um..."

"Helga." She finished bluntly.

"Yes, . You may take your seat now."

"OK."

She walked over to her seat with a new spring in her step. She felt good. After the demonstration it all went down hill. He just lectured on the dangers of hypnotism and told stories of his past flops with hypnotizing chickens to act like roosters. Nothing nearly as exciting as what had taken place with Helga. For a few fateful seconds she had turned sweet as honey, as caring as a mother, the best phrase would be to simply say... Helga went crackers. The beginning day progressed without a hitch till the bell rang signaling recess. Arnold felt a lack of wet, sloppy spitballs. He figured maybe now that he knew her secret she would leave him alone... nah! Helga was too mean. Something was definitely up.

At recess Arnold looked around for Helga. After a few moments of his eyes wandering, he spotted her over on the swings swinging high and happily. He walked over to her with a weird twitch in his stomach. He sat down on the swing next to her waiting for her to notice. She saw him sitting there with a clearly fake smile plastered on his face. She was a little creeped out by this but none the less, she stopped swinging.

"Hey Arnold, how's tricks?"

"Fine I guess. Um... I feel like we should really talk about what happened back on FTi."

"What's there to talk about? I told you my feelings, you were freaked, you let me take it back. I know it happened and so do you apparently. But whatever. I love you and that's all there is to it. There's no denying it now that it's out in the open. Well anyway, I'm going to go join the conversation over there."

She sounded so pleasant and she didn't seem to mind that he knew at all. Something was a miss. But he decided not to question it.

"Uh... OK Helga. But there is one other thing I wanted to ask you. Why didn't you shoot any spitballs at me in class? Are you going to be nice to me now?"

"Hmmm... I guess I didn't shoot any at you. Funny. I had planned to. Oh well. I guess I just don't have it in me anymore. I didn't feel like shooting spitballs at you. I don't know why. I guess it doesn't matter. I'll see you when I see you Arnold."

"Yeah, OK."

Well that hadn't gone as expected. She just walked away like nothing had ever happened, and she was chatting it up with Rhonda, Nadine, Lila, Phoebe, and all the other girls in their class. This was odd, but he didn't question her in fear that he may jinx the situation.

"Hey girls. So wha'cha you talking about over here?"

"Oh nothing you'd be interested in, Helga. But if you must know, we're talking about hairstyles and lip gloss. Nothing you'd know anything about."

Phoebe interjected, "I'm afraid I have to Concur with Rhonda. This wouldn't interest you."

"Oh come on! I've had different hairstyles before and I've even worn a few different shades of lip gloss. But mostly I'm into lip balm because it makes my lips taste good and it keeps them plump." Her eyes widened slightly. "I've never told anyone that before."

"Well now you have. I'm impressed Helga. I didn't know you knew anything about beauty." said a very impressed Rhonda.

"Yeah, I've actually been thinking about new hairstyles lately. I want a hairstyle that looks nice, but keeps my hair out of my face when I'm playing sports. Do you think you girls could help me out?"

The girls seemed so weirded out by this. Not only was Helga asking about hairstyles, she was being friendly. Of course they were shocked by this random turn of events. But none questioned it. They all played along as they chatted about hair and lip balm all through recess. The boys seemed a bit thrown off by it, but figured she was planning some sort of prank. But they didn't know.

The bell rang and everyone went back to class. Helga surprisingly didn't push a soul. Plus in class she raised her hand for almost every question asked and any time she was called on she got the answer correct! It was odd. Even Mr. Simmons was making weird faces about it. But soon it was lunch time and she walked happily over to the cafeteria with many of the girls following behind.

Arnold had to know what was going on so he decided he would have to sit her down and question her at lunch. He even got several of the guys on board to help him interrogate her. They couldn't wait till after she got her food and sat down because that would mean she would be too busy chatting with the girls about whatever! So they forced their way through the sea of girls and Stinky and Harold grabbed her and sat her down at a table before she could get away. She looked shocked. All the boys had serious looks on their faces.

Arnold began, "What's going on?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

"Just answer the question." Gerald commanded.

"I can't answer because I don't understand the question."

"I reckon she's telling the truth." Stinky said.

"Well then, why are you being so nice and acting so weird!? You were talking to all the girls about hair or something, you haven't bullied anyone today, and you answered all of questions correctly! I repeat, what's going on?"

"Arnold, I'm just being myself. I don't know how that could be a problem."

"But this isn't you! You're always bullying everyone and making sarcastic remarks! You haven't done either!"

"I told you Arnold. Nothing's up. I'm just being myself. I don't feel like bullying or making sarcastic remarks today. I can't explain it, but I guess I just feel like being nice today. That's all. Now if that's all you needed to ask me, I have to go starve myself now." She said rather annoyed as she got up from the chair they forced her in.

"What do ya mean starve?" Stinky asked a hint of confusion in his usually dim eyes.

"Well I know for a fact that Mirriam didn't pack my lunch today. So I'm just going to suck on this lollipop I've got." She replied, holding up a lollipop that she got from her pocket.

"Well garsh Helga. I'll trade you a Mr. Fudgey bar for yer lollipop."

"Thanks Stinky. That's very kind of you. But I'd feel like I was cheating you if I traded my measly little lollipop for a whole Mr. Fudgey. So as nice of you as that is, I'm afraid I must decline your offer."

"Well it's no problem Helga, seeing as it's a lemon flavored lolli. I'd gladly trade with you."

"Well if you're sure."

"I'm as sure as the grass is green." He said in his usual southern drawl, holding up a Mr. Fudgy bar.

"Well thanks... I guess" They switched the items. "Guess I'll see you later, Stinko."

"I reckon I'd like that a lot Miss Helga."

She giggled almost flirtatiously as she walked away, Mr. Fudgey in hand. Most of the boys stared in disbelief at what had just happened.

"Mmmm mmmm mmmm, Helga Pataki being nice. It's like something out of a horror film." Gerald stated as he watched Helga walk over to a table and sit down with all the girls.

"I must say it's perty strange, but I like it." Stinky said with a smile as he stuffed the lollipop in his mouth and sucked on it loudly.

"I'm sure everything will be back to normal tomorrow." Arnold said trying to make sense of what had just happened.

But he was wrong! He couldn't have been more wrong! Her new attitude only got worse... er... better... er.... you know. Things were getting even weirder the next day when she walked into class punctual and pretty! She wore her usual duds but now she had her hair tied in a ponytail with her big pink bow. Not to mention the pretty pink flower she wore in her hair. But the weirdest thing she wore that day was a smile!

Arnold was still weirded out by this but accepted it after only a hour the next day. He decided he would talk to her at recess to see if she was really telling the truth. But once recess rolled around, he was beaten to the punch by all the boys in their class! They were gathered around her as she talked about... poetry?! Yes, she was discussing poetry with all of the boys in the class.

"So yes Sid, you can't just write a few rhyming words on page and call it a poem. It has to come out of your soul."

"Boy howdy Helga, you sure do know a lot about poetry."

"Well, I've been writing ever since I learned to spell."

"Garsh Helga. Were all those mushy love poems in class yours?"

"Actually yes."

"Who were they written for?"

All the boys waited in anticipation, some slightly hoping it was them.

"Oh, he knows who he is. But I'd rather not say."

"So it's one of us?"

"He's in our class." She replied to Peapod kid vaguely.

"Can't you tell us who he is?"

"I don't think he'd appreciate me telling you all. But he knows who he is."

"Garsh ... That's awful nice of you to respect his feelings on the matter."

"I guess."

Arnold had overheard the whole thing. He was happy she didn't spill. He was almost sure he'd be teased for it. But he still had to speak to her. So he pushed his way through the crowd of boys and grabbed Helga by the hand and explained to everyone that he had to talk to Helga alone for a minute. They all shrugged and walked off.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Um... I just wanted to tell you that I kinda like this nicer you. I still don't understand what happened to you. But I do know that I like it a lot."

"Well that's very Arnold-ish of you to say. Well I'm going to go play some hops scotch if you want to join me."

"Sure." He said with a smile.

They had played hops scotch, swung on the swing together, and even just talked for a while alone on the bench. He was enjoying this new Helga, maybe a little too much. He was starting to get butterflies every time she walked by him. He definitely liked this new Helga. But there was one last thing that sealed the deal. She helped a small boy up so he could get a drink at the fountain during the next recess. That had done it. He really liked her now. They were talking when some of the boys (including Gerald) started to take notice of his strange behavior, along with some of the girls.

"'Wow Helga, I had no idea you knew so much about poetry. Maybe you could help me out. I've been having some problems with a poem I've been trying to write for class."

"Sure Arnold, no problem."

"Great. You know, I really like this nicer side of you, Helga. I don't have the slightest clue as to why you would hide this side of you."

"I've explained this at length Arnold-o. I just woke up and for some unknown reason, I didn't feel like... I don't know. Ummm... taking out my frustrations on others, I guess you could say."

"That is kinda weird."

"No duh, Einstein." She flashed him a bright smile.

She was still a very sarcastic person. That would never change. What did change was how she said it. It wasn't said with spite or annoyance or in that "It's-so-obvious-a-squirrel-could-figure-it-out" way. It was said with a hint of joy and chalk full of humor. She said it to get a laugh instead of saying it just be obstinate and rude. It was a nice switch. At least it seemed like a grand improvement to Arnold.

Arnold laughed lightly. She was always funny, and he could never explain how he felt about her because he could never think of the right words to explain it. So he just excused it as nothing whenever he was around her. But now it was getting a lot harder to hold back. It was a lot easier to dismiss the connection he felt with her when she was just a mean, old bully, but now... now she was so much more than that. She was witty, hilarious, intelligent, charismatic, and quite pretty. What with her shiny, golden blonde hair that always shone in the sun, those abnormally long eyelashes that she hid so well because she knew that long eyelashes meant girly and she was most certainly not girly, and how those eyelashes added such emphasis on her big, beautiful, crystal blue eyes.

His smile widened considerably as they continued their conversation. All the other 5th graders were gathered around the monkey bars observing this strange feat unraveling several feet before them.

"Boy Howdy, Arnold sure does seem to like Helga now."

"Wha'cha mean, Sid? I reckon I don't see it. They're just talkin'. Nothin' out of the ornary about that." Observed Stinky, scratching his head in his usual in-the-dark manner.

"Nothing out of the ordinary?! Stinky, Helga and Arnold have always hated eachother! Them talking to eachother in a civil manner is simply an outrage!"

"Cool it Rhonda. We all know it's weird, but I'm sure this will all blow over by tomorrow. I mean, Arnold and Helga getting along? That's just crazy talk."

"I conquer with Gerald. The chances of Arnold and Helga becoming friends is 127,485.234 to 1."

"Wha?" Stinky asked.

"The chances are very slim."

"Oh."

"Exactly, like me and Phoebe said, this whole thing will have blown over by tomorrow."

* * *

"I can't believe it hasn't blown over yet!" Cried a very shocked and frustrated Gerald.

"I know, Helga and I were supposed to meet at the corner on 3rd so we could converse on the way to school. But I see that she made other plans."

Standing a few feet before them were Arnold and Helga, both laughing and talking about random things. It was all very distressing for their poor best friends.

* * *

"Thanks for calling me this morning to wake me up in time for school, Arnold. Mirriam's usually passed out at this time and Bob has to drive to work at the crack of dawn. So it was a huge help."

"It was no problem, Helga. But... um... Can I ask you something kinda personal?"

"Depends on how personal, Arnold-o."

"I don't think it's that personal. Just something I've always wondered about."

"Well, okay. Ask away."

"Why do you call your parents by their first names?"

She stared at him incredulously for a moment before she started laughing.

"Oh that's just too easy. You had me worrying there for a second, Hair Boy!" She laughed as she playfully punched him in the arm. She didn't do it hard enough to actually hurt him. She could never hurt Arnold.

Once her laughter died down she answered his question easily.

"Because I don't think they deserve to be called Mom and Dad. I call them that on occasion, but it's never permanent. Mirriam is almost always asleep on the couch or something and Bob never pays any attention to me! Even when Olga isn't around he still doesn't know I exist! And if you don't believe me, well, you've heard him call me Olga before! He doesn't even know my real name! It's ridiculous! What kind of a father doesn't even know his daughter's name?! What kind of a mother spends all her time sleeping instead of making her daughter's lunch, or driving her to school, or caring that she's constantly starving herself to death because she hasn't made dinner because she's too busy being passed out on the kitchen counter?! I repeat!!! They don't deserve to be called Mom and Dad!" She finished her rant in one breath and was now breathing heavily. Arnold was extremely taken aback by this whole thing. Her answer started out so calm and collected and slowly but surely turned into... into... madness! She clearly felt very strongly about her decision to call them by their names.

She was still catching her breath, trying to calm down, but Arnold could see she was still very distressed. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Helga was momentarily caught off guard. Now normally Helga would have pushed him away by now. She had melted at his touch just like always, but when the time came to push him away, she just couldn't do it. He was just trying to comfort her. For some bizarre unknown reason, she wrapped her own arms around him, returning his embrace.

Arnold was very weirded out by this, but happy none the less. He hugged her tighter and she did likewise. They stayed like that for a few more moments till Arnold finally remembered why he hugged her in the first place. Her breathing had returned to normal and she seemed much more at ease. So he slowly and hesitantly removed his arms from around her and grabbed her hand. She smiled at this gesture as they continued walking to school.

"So you really love me, huh?"

"Hmm?"

"I just mean this whole thing is kinda weird don't you think?"

"I understand your new to this whole me loving you deal, but I've been dealing with this for the past seven years. It's nothing new to me."

"Oh yeah..." He gulped before continuing, "So I'm guessing you want me to tell you how I feel..."

"Arnold, I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I realize all this must still be shocking for you, but please... I know you probably need time to think or something, I'm not in a rush for you to tell me you love me, propose on the spot, and get married at age ten or anything." She snickered at the obsurity or her statement before continuing,"Just think about it and once you're certain of your feelings, then you can tell me. Take your time. But don't take too long, I'm still young and I really need to know how you feel sometime so I can know if... if... if I'm wasting my time on someone who'll never love me back."

"Well... thank you Helga."

She smiled sadly at him. They continued walking to school in silence. Arnold contemplated his feelings for her as she just basked in his glow. There was no doubt that he really liked her, and there was no denying that strange connection he always felt with her. But love? That was a really strong word. He still had to think on that. But looking to his right at the girl he had once known as a bully, but now knew to be actually really sweet and caring and intelligent and many other nice things. He smiled and knew that it wouldn't necessarily be hard for him to love her. But he still had to think.

And what _was _with her sudden attitude change?

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Did you enjoy it so far? I hope so because I busted my butt over this! lol! Well, new chapter should be up within the next month or so. Remember to Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer; Me still no owny Hey Arnold!**

**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 2**

The next few days were still weird. Helga was still being nice. But something just didn't seem right. Along with her attitude change, she was also more open, which made the situation all the more confusing. Helga was a very closed off person. She hid behind her bullying so people wouldn't tease her about having feelings. Silly as it may sound, it made perfect sense to Helga. Or at least it did. Now she was spouting off her poetry left and right, and answering any ones questions as to why she did the certain things she did (Calling her parents by their first names, hating Olga so much, and why she loved the secret person she loved). It was surreal.

Most of the class just went with it. Some of the guys were even forming crushes on her. Although many wouldn't dare tell her, out of fear she may revert back to her old ways and beat them to a bloody pulp. But Phoebe could tell this wasn't the Helga they all knew and feared. So she decided to do some investigation. She thought back to the exact moment the change seemed to occur. She could remember Helga being rather Helga-ish on Monday morning right before that whole hypnotizing stuff. And after that she was all nice and... WOA! Wait just a minute! The Hypnotist! That would explain everything! But he was a professional! It couldn't have been him... Could it?

Well, it was the only lead Phoebe had, so she decided she'd just have to roll with it till she either found the truth, or till she hit a dead end. But she wasn't about to go in alone, oh _NO_! Not without her trusty sidekick...

"Gerald! Hurry up!"

Phoebe was at Gerald's house just outside his bedroom door getting rather impatient with him.

"There is no way I'm wearing this in public!"

"What? Not wearing what in public?"

Gerald walked out of the room dejectedly. He was wearing a Watson outfit. He had a small green bowl hat on top his rather large stack of hair, a large green-plaid coat with brown buttons, brown dress up pants, a white foofy shirt, and dark brown shoes. He lifted his arms up and slowly rotated to give Phoebe a better view of his humiliation.

Phoebe tried, she really did, but she couldn't help it! She burst out in a fit of laughter and couldn't seem to catch her breath.

Gerald growled at her, scowling. "I'm not wearing this in public! Why do you want me to wear this?"

Once Phoebe was able to catch her breath she responded, "I'm not making you wear..." She giggled some more. "That outfit!" She burst into laughter again, falling to the ground, clenching her stomach.

Gerald raised an eyebrow. "But Timberly brought it up and said you sent it over..." His voice was becoming lower and slower as he went from realization slowly sinking in. "And that I had to wear it." He was flaming mad now. His face was red with anger.

"**TIMBERLY!!!!!!!**"

"Bye! I'm heading over to Susan's!" He heard the door slam shut.

"Oh no she doesn't!" He jumped over a still hysterical Phoebe and ran downstairs to the front door. Blinded by fury, he threw the door open and came running out in the middle of the street. His eyes searching angrily for any signs of his little sister. All of a sudden he heard laughing.

'_Phoebe?_' He thought. But he turned around not to find Phoebe, but all of Timberly's friends, with Timberly right in the middle of it all. They were all laughing at him! With their high, squeaky little voices! Oh, how he wished he was deaf just now.

He was so embarressed! '_Great._' He thought. Just then Phoebe came out of his house and saw him standing there with all the little girls laughing at him. She instantly started laughing hysterically, yet again. He turned to see Phoebe laughing at him again. '_Oh! Better!_' He closed his eyes, hoping it would all go away. Suddenly he heard even more laughing. And the laughing sounded like...

He whirled around to see Helga and Arnold laughing. Helga had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard, and Arnold was leaning on her to try and keep from falling over.

Finally, enough was enough. "That's it! Shows over! Timberly! You better start running because later tonight..." He looked around to make sure his parents or Jamie-o weren't around before continuing. "Let's just say Mr. Fuzzlestiltsken isn't going to be sleeping right for the next few **YEARS**!"

"OH!" Timberly scurried away as fast as she could with all her friends trailing behind. Gerald huffed and then turned back to his friend and his supposed to be rival. "Why are you here?" He asked dejectedly. Helga was able to find her sanity before Arnold so she answered. "We came over to see if you wanted to go watch a movie with us." She snickered some. "But I guess you had other plans. When's the dork seminar start?" She started laughing again.

Gerald huffed in annoyance. "No seminar. My sister tricked me into wearing these clothes. **AND STOP _LAUGHING_**!" He yelled. They didn't stop. Although Arnold did lighten up a bit.

"Sorry, Gerald. It's just..." He started laughing again. He turned to see Phoebe still laughing. "_OH_... Why _me_?"

"Hey Geraldo!" He turned only to be blinded by a flash. He stumbled back a little. "What the heck was that?" He asked. Once his sight came back, he focused on Helga and saw her standing there with a camera and smirk planted across her face.

"How much ya think the kids at school will pay to see this?"

"_Helga_!"

She just laughed some more. "Relax, Geraldo! I'm just kiddin'! Although this will be put up on my wall for commemoration of this glorious day where Geraldo finally lost what was left of his dignity." She smirked again before laughing at Gerald's peeved face.

Phoebe was finally able to stop laughing and decided to come to Gerald's rescue. She walked over to his side and took his arm. "Sorry guys, but we actually do have other plans. Maybe we can schedule something tomorrow. But right now we must be off!" She began dragging Gerald back into his house so he could change. Helga and Arnold were still snickering under their breaths. Once they were inside Gerald turned to Phoebe with one finger raised. "I'm never showing my face outside, _again_." And then he collapsed on the ground.

"Oh dear..." Phoebe shook her head

* * *

Meanwhile outside...

"Aw man! I knew Gerald had some problems but... _WOW!"_ Exclaimed a still snickering Helga.

"He's not usually like that. But his sister has done worse." He smiled at her. "So, you still want to go to the movies?"

She nodded her head excitedly. "Doi! Let's go!" She grinned and grabbed his arm, running down the street toward the Movie Theater.

Arnold smiled too. The last few days, he had been spending a lot of time with Helga. He was really enjoying himself, and he could tell she was enjoying his company as well. Well, of _course_ she was enjoying _his_company. She was in love with him. The question if he loved her still remained though. He was definitely leaning more towards yes. She was great! And all her personality traits complimented his very nicely, and vice-versa. She was intellectual, intuitive, and a realist, while he was an idealistic dreamer with his head in the clouds. She was always there to pull him back to earth and he was there to help keep her dreams alive. She was wild and adventurous while he was tame, sane, but also an adventurer. He liked the idea of going on adventures with her. Not to mention she was really pretty nowadays. She had her hair down today so it flowed down her shoulders in soft waves and it glistened in the sun. Her bright blue eyes were always twinkling with mischief. How could he not love her?

He sighed. He still wasn't sure. But he was definitely leaning towards yes. He smiled again once they made it to the theater.

They walked up to the ticket counter.

"Two tickets for Evil Twin 4 please."

Arnold looked at her, shocked. "Uh... wait one second." He pulled Helga aside. "Helga, are you sure you want to watch a horror flick? You do know it has a lot of blood and bones and-" Helga cut him off. "Arnold! Come on! I love blood and guts and bones and not to mention evil twins! I'm not gonna go watch some stupid girly film. That would just be stupid."

He looked at her incredulously. No girl he's ever gone to the movies with has ever wanted to watch a horror flick. They always wanted to watch something with unicorns and bunnies and junk like that. Helga was a rather weird girl. He smiled. He was glad. They walked back over to the ticket counter and got their tickets before running inside.

"You want some snacks or something, Helga?"

"Sure, popcorn, yahoo soda, and a box of bubblegum ice cream drops." She replied as they made their way over to the concession stand.

"Sounds good." They made it to the counter. "Excuse me, Sir. We'll have one big bucket of popcorn, two yahoo sodas, a box of bubblegum ice cream drops, and some ice cream nuggets."

The teenaged boy replied in a squeaky voice, obviously going through the voice change that comes with puberty. They hoped. "Good choice. That will be $17.85."

Arnold nodded and reaching into his pocket to retrieve the money his grandpa gave him. But right when he was about to hand it to the squeaky voiced teenager, Helga had already handed him the money. Arnold nearly dropped his money in surprise. Helga just smiled warmly at him. His heart fluttered. She had a nice smile. He smiled back in thanks.

_'This is going to be a nice night. I'm kinda glad Phoebe and Gerald had other plans._' He thought, smiling as they made their way to the theater their movie was being shown, snacks in hand.

* * *

"I'm sooooooo not glad we passed up going to the Movies! Why are we even here? It's cold and dark and there doesn't seem to be anyone here." Stressed Gerald as they walked down a damp, darkened hallway.

"This is the address Mr. Simmons gave me. Mr. Hypno should be here somewhere."

They continued walking down the halls. Phoebe was just looking around for a door or something while Gerald was walking beside her with a very weary expression on his face.

"I don't think he's home, Phoebe. We shouldn't have just come in. What if he gets mad?"

"The door was open Gerald. I'm sure he won't mind. He seemed friendly enough." She replied, flashing her flash light around the hallway.

"I hope your right."

"Oh, I usually **_ammmmmm_**!" She screamed as she slipped on something and went falling to the ground. The flashlight went flying out of her hand.

"Oh my... I seemed to have lost the flashlight."

"Oh! Great! Now Wh-**AHHHHHHHHHH**!"

"Gerald?!"

No answer.

"**Gerald?!**"

Still no answer.

'Gerald?! Where are yo-**OOOOOOOOOHHHH!**"

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**A/N: UH OH! What happened?! He he! You'll just have to wait and see! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *Cough* Yeah, I got the second chapter done sooner than expected. Pretty sweet, huh? Hope you enjoyed! =D**

**Review!!!!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so happy I've been able to update so rapidly! I hate it when people take a long time to update. I most certainly don't want to become my own worst nightmare. I can't even begin to tell you how many stories I've been waiting on. It just feels like it's killing my soul! I don't want to do that to you. So I'm trying here. I really am. Well, anyway, third chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Remarkable! Me _still_no owny Hey Arnold!**

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Hypnotizing Helga

Chapter 3

"**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**"

Arnold jolted at the sudden high-pitched scream, effectively throwing popcorn all over Helga.

Helga just laughed at his reaction and began picking popcorn out of her hair. "Geez, Football Head, I'm not a Christmas tree." She whispered over the movie, popping a few pieces of popcorn in her mouth, and smiling fondly at him.

Arnold began laughing until...

"**OH NO! What are you doing with that fork!? DON'T KILL ME! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**"

Arnold jolted yet again, spilling popcorn all over Helga.

Helga just laughed again and whispered, "Alright, maybe_ I_ should hold the popcorn from now on, eh Football Head?"

Arnold just nodded and handed her the popcorn rather stiffly, not even looking at her, eyes still wide from the shock of the scream.

Helga patted him on the shoulder to try and relieve some of his obvious distress. "Hey, hey, It's only a movie Arnold. I know the screams are a little mind boggling, but there's nothing to really be scared about."

* * *

"I'm so scared! Where am I? OH!"

"Who's there?!"

"Phoebe?!"

"Gerald?!"

"I'm so glad I found you! Where are we?"

"For the first time in my life..." Her eyes widened in the darkened room. "I don't know." She gulped out of fear and held fast to Gerald. He felt warm and a bit taller than she remembered.

"Where are you now Phoebe?" Gerald asked as he reached around in the pitch black, trying to find Phoebe.

"What are you talking about, Gerald? I'm hugging you."

"Uhhhh... I don't feel you hugging me."

Phoebe's eyes widened as she replied in a high-pitched, terrified voice, "Then what am I hugging?"

They heard laughing and Phoebe felt whatever she was holding squirm. She was too terrified to move.

"You're holding onto I, Mr. Hypno, silly child."

Phoebe gave out a relieved sigh and was finally able to let go.

"Good, we were looking for you. What exactly happened back there?"

Gerald was still wandering around in the dark trying to find where Phoebe was. All of a sudden, he hit something with a loud "CLANG!". Obviously metal of some sort.

"**OW!**"

They both heard laughing again, then suddenly the lights came on, revealing Mr. Hypno standing by the wall with his hand still on the light switch. The room they were in wasn't much better than the cold, damp hallway they were just in. The walls had peeling dark red paint, the floor was concrete, and there was some furniture scattered about the room. An old torn up white couch was located in the middle of the room, a yellowing mini fridge over in the corner along with a small, run-down old stove, and an old crank TV on top of a little wooden table a few feet in front of the couch. Mr. Hypno smirked before sauntering over to the couch and plopping down in it. Gesturing for the two children to join him.

Phoebe walked over to the couch wearily, before hesitantly sitting down.

Gerald was still a bit dizzy from suddenly crashing into the broken, metal lamp next to the couch, and began towards the couch in a rather drunk looking fashion. Finally he made it to the couch and fell onto it, face first.

Mr. Hypno laughed yet again at the young boy's antics.

Phoebe was about to ask again when he began his explanation. "I'm not just a hypnotist, you know. I'm also a magician. I transported you here!" He swiftly pulled up a blanket that was on the couch and held it up to hide his face rather mysteriously, wiggling his eyebrows.

Gerald mumbled into the couch, "Oh _PLEASE_!" Making no movements to get up from his rather uncomfortable looking position on the couch.

"No really! I am. I'm also a chiropractor, you know, in case you need any help with your back there. You took a pretty bad fall out there, you didn't throw out you back did you?"

Phoebe blinked. Could ten year olds even throw out their backs? What was with this guy?

'Um...No, I'm fine, thank you." She smiled weakly.

Gerald finally sat up on the couch and looked him straight in the eye. "So let me get this straight..." He began counting on his fingers as he went. "You're a hypnotist, a magician, and a chiropractor all in one?" Gerald looked at him a bit closer. "And you don't have a single wrinkle, so you're obviously very young. How old are you?"

He lost his smirk and cleared his throught loudly before answering, "24 and a half." He didn't even look him in the eye.

Gerald looked at him incredulously. "So you're 24 and you managed to get a degree in hypnotism, magic, and chiropractimy-my... uh... chriropractology... um... you know what I mean." He looked him in the eyes again with his own narrowed.

'I'm also a hair stylist, and may I say that you have some of the best hair I have ever seen?" He exclaimed animatedly, grinning best he could under the circumstances.

Gerald just shook his head while Phoebe sighed and said, "I thought you were a _professional _hypnotist. How did you really learn hypnotism?"

My. Hypno looked over at her and suddenly grew a huge smile on his perfect face. He got up from the couch and hopped over to the fridge and opened it up. Inside was some cheese, bread, and mayonnaise, not to mention a bunch of books! He began flipping throught the small assortment of books in his mini fridge before finally coming across the one he wanted. He then closed the door with a huge "SLAP" and skipped, giddily over to the couch. He sat down and flashed the book's cover in front of Phoebe's face.

"Bun Bun Learns Hypnotism?" She read aloud. The cover had a picture of a bunny rabbit holding up a watch and wearing some ridiculous red and white swirly goggles or hypno glasses. Her eyes widened. "Uhhhhhh..." She stuttered. Mr. Hypno nodded enthusiastically before Gerald suddenly swiped the book from him and began flipping through the pages. His eyes narrowed as he continued flipping through it. Once he was done he snapped the book shut and looked over at a very happy Mr. Hypno.

"This is just some stupid story book! You learned through this?!"

Mr. Hypno looked taken aback by his disapproving tone of voice, but nodded slowly, fearing more harsh words.

Gerald huffed in exasperation. "Why would Mr. Simmons hire a no good hack like you?"

He turned his head up haughtily. "Hmmph, I'm not a 'No good hack', my young friend. I just happened upon the job fair and square. He wanted a hypnotist, so I told him I was one, bought that book, studied up, and got a few extra bucks for it. Need to put food on the table."

"So you just hypnotized our friend without any real knowledge on hypnotism?!" Phoebe exclaimed, panicky and a small sliver of anger meshed into it.

Mr. Hypno turned to her. "Hey, Mr. What's-his-face wanted some sort of demonstration to entertain you kids. So I gave him one. No harm, no foul. It went better than expected."

"But Mr. Hypno, you were unsuccessful in your attempt to return her to consciousness! She's out there right now being... being..." She searched for the right word to describe her friend's recent actions.

"Nice." Gerald finished for her, dryly.

Mr. Hypno looked at him funny."Sooooooo...?"

"So that's not exactly normal for her. She's normally a mean, scowling, nasty bully! Now she's been acting decent and I've gotta say...** IT'S BEEN FREAKIN' ME OUT**!"

Phoebe glared at him, although he didn't notice. Mr. Hypno considered this. "Well, that's not good..."

"**YA THINK?!**"

Mr. Hypno swallowed hard. "Well, what do you want the 'No good hack' to help you for? If I couldn't get her back to normal then, what makes you think I can now?"

Gerald looked at him with a blank face, before leaning around him to look at Phoebe. "He's got a point."

Phoebe sighed and dropped her head in her hands. "Forgive me Helga..." She whispered sadly.

Mr. Hypno's heart sank at the sight. "I guess I could try again. Maybe if I'm a little more clear in my wording it'll snap her out of it. Or we could just splash a bucket of cold water on her face."

Phoebe looked up with tears threatening to escape. "I doubt cold water will help with the situation. But I guess it couldn't hurt if you tried again." She smiled weakly in thanks. One tear slid down her face. Mr. Hypno handed her a hankie he had stuffed up his sleeve. "Hey, it'll be OK, little girl. Even if I can't, doesn't mean a real professional can't either. I'll go to the library later and see if I can find a better book." He smiled at her compassionately.

"No story books with bunny rabbits this time." Gerald spoke sternly with a finger shoved in his face.

Mr. Hypno nodded. Gerald smiled coolly. "Good. Now let's get out of here, Phoebe. Looks like we can make it to the Theater after all, you know... just to calm your nerves." He put a hand on her shoulder after getting up from his spot on the couch and standing next to her. Phoebe smiled and wiped her eyes with the hankie. She offered it back to Mr. Hypno, but he just held out his hand, indicating she should keep it.

"Thanks." He just smiled in return.

They left the old building and began in the direction of the Movie Theater. Things were definitely looking up. Soon Helga will be Helga again, hopefully, and they'll both get their best friends back. All was going well... But what was going to happen with Arnold and Helga then?

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter has come and gone! Hope you enjoyed this! next chapter will be up soon. Till then my fellow readers...**

**REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey ya'll...**

**Before I go on with Chapter 4, I'd like to explain exactly what's going on with Helga here. She has been hypnotized to show her true self UNWILLINGLY! She can't help but be herself; She doesn't have a choice. That's why Phoebe was so upset in the last chapter... because Helga would never have free rain over her emotions or actions again, technically, and she felt it to be her fault that she would have to stay like that. **

**Helga is also in an unconscious sort of state of mind, so she really has no clue what she's doing or why she's doing it. Helga really is kinda helpless here.**

**This story is roughly based on "George of the Jungle 2" I believe. In the movie, George's wife or girlfriend or mate or whatever had been kidnapped and hypnotized into thinking she was in love with another man and very happy with him. Once she was able to be de-hypnotized, she really had no recollection of what had gone on the past few days. This is a rough summary. I haven't seen the actual movie in at least four years. But I found it interesting enough to retain some of the plot line. **

**Anyway, that's sort of what's going on here. Although Arnold has no clue as to what happened. I don't think he wants to know either. It would ruin the _mood_. And as for hypno-accuracy... This is a cartoon, and past episodes haven't exactly been perfect either. Like in the episode "Beaned" when Helga pretended to still have amnesia, she got out of the whole thing by banging her head on the water fountain, when in real life, with REAL amnesia, banging your head on something could only make your amnesia worse. That didn't stop them, so I'm not going to let the details stop me either.**

**Well, that's just been bothering me so I thought I'd get that out there. On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: _Why_ do you keep asking me?! Me _STILL _no owny Hey Arnold! Gah!**

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**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 4**

Gerald and Phoebe were on their way to the Movie Theater, walking in silence, lost in their thoughts.

Phoebe was still a little distressed over the current situation. What if he wasn't able to turn her back to normal? What if Helga would never be in control of herself _ever_ again? Phoebe had read about hypnotism before, or course. She had read that it could be used to hypnotize people into accepting things earlier than normal, thinking different things that they normally wouldn't think about, and even overcoming fears. But Helga didn't ask for this. The Helga who was a mean, old bully with fears and wants and desires was locked away in her subconscious. It made her stomach wrench just thinking about it.

The Helga they had now was great, it was still Helga after all, just the part of her she hid behind her reputation, but she didn't have control over anything she did or said. Any old thing could just fly out of her mouth without a care, because this Helga was fearless practically. Nothing seemed to matter much anymore. She couldn't even remember why she had all those secrets! Phoebe feared what Helga would do once she was back and found out about all the stuff she told everyone. She would either scream, beat up anyone who mentioned it to her again, or just hide in her room under her bed for the next century or two. That was Helga for you.

Phoebe sighed.

While Phoebe was having her angst-fest, Gerald just wandered along side her, contemplating his best friend's strange behavior lately. It was still kind of odd seeing Helga and Arnold around eachother 24/7. Ever since Helga had been hypnotized into being _"herself"_, Gerald rolled his eyes, Arnold had insisted on constantly being by her side. He had also been acting really weird around her. He had been staring at her in class lately, sometimes with a face that seemed to be deep in thought and sometimes he'd just have that half-lidded gaze and tiny, soft smile on his face as he stared at her. It went back and forth. Gerald had also caught Arnold waiting out front of the school, rather anxiously he might add, for Helga to come out so they could "_hang out_" or whatever. But that wasn't the worst of it. Gerald had come over to Arnold's house the other day, looking desperately for something to occupy his time, and his grandpa had welcomed him in and told him 'Shortman' was upstairs in his room.

Gerald just walked, listlessly through the hallway till he came to the steps to Arnold's room. He walked up the creaking staircase and opened the door. He entered the room and shut the door, firmly behind him, then looked around for where his friend might be. He had looked to his left and found Arnold laying there asleep, hugging a pillow tight against him, with a sweet little smile on his face. _'Looks like he's having good dreams..."_ Gerald had thought as he tip toed over to the edge of the red flip-out couch and looked down at his friend. _'Too bad I'm too bored to care.'_ He reached down to shake Arnold, but right before his hand had made contact with his arm, Arnold had begun mumbling something in his sleep. Intrigued, and hoping it would relieve him of his boredom, Gerald just stood there, waiting for him to speak again.

Arnold's smile increased, "Mmmmmmm... Helga..." He sighed happily in his sleep and rolled over on his side. Gerald looked alarmed._ 'Helga? Why would he be dreaming about_ _her?' _Arnold rolled over onto his other side this time and hugged the pillow tighter, then snuggled it. _'What the...?' _Before Gerald could finish his though, Arnold spoke again. "Oh Helga, you smell so good..." He inhaled the pillow's scent. "Like sweet, sweet vanilla." Gerald looked down at the slumbering Arnold incredulously. Arnold sighed again. Alright, that was enough. Gerald reached down and grabbed his arm to try and wake him up, but as soon as his hand made contact, Arnold snatched up his hand and snuggled it along with his pillow. Gerald freaked, trying to find a way out of this, but before he could make any other movements, Arnold leaned in and kissed his hand. "**Eeeeeeeeewww!**" He snatched his hand back quick, without giving it a moments thought.

"Huh?!" Arnold suddenly bolted upright from the sudden screech and looked up to find the source. "Oh..." He yawned. "Hey Gerald, when did you get here?" He asked as he rubbed his eye to rid of any crust. Gerald looked at him, appalled. He had the sudden urge to barf his guts out, right then and there, in Arnold's room, on Arnold's oblong head. Maybe it would make up for kissing _his_ hand, or in Arnold's case, "_Helga's hand_". Remembering this fact, Gerald just shook his head. "Mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmm..." He just walked out the door and didn't look back.

"Aaaaaaaachoo!"

Snapping out of his reverie, he noticed Phoebe blowing her nose into the handkerchief Mr. Hypno had given her. "Bless you." She smiled at him. "Thanks." He just nodded. It was then he realized they were at their desired location. The Movie Theater. Gerald smiled, taking Phoebe's hand as they walked up to the ticket booth to get their tickets.

They both decided to just forget about all their stressful issues and to just enjoy the movie, because tomorrow they would have to face them head on.

* * *

Helga and Arnold exited the theater, laughing as they threw out their empty popcorn container, sodas, and empty candy boxes.

"Aw man, I loved when that funny haired guy with the glasses jabbed his partner's dislocated arm in the eighth evil twin's eye as a distraction! That was revolting and hilarious at the same time!" She clutched her stomach, laughing hard.

Arnold chuckled along with her. "I know, did you see the look on his partner's face when his hand came in contact with the twin's eye?!" He started chuckling again.

Helga laughed harder, but was able to choke out, "Yeah! His eyes practically popped out of their sockets!"

Arnold laughed again, but suddenly thought of something. "Why did he jam his partner's arm into the twins eye? That seemed kinda unorthodox, don't you think?"

Helga stopped laughing and suddenly looked pensive, before responding a few seconds after, "Well, look at it from his point of view...They're trapped in an old gold mine after falling down that trap door in the basement, and find out it's actually the evil twin's lair and there's nothing around but a bunch of people the twins had captured, running and screaming, and they desperately need to distract the twins so their men can get as many people out of there as possible. So now here they are as the distractions, with this evil, ugly twin running at them. Is he gonna stick his own arm into it's abnormally large eyeball? No. But he does have his partner right next to him, who can't seem to relocate his arm at the moment, so what does he do? He grabs his partner's arm and jabs it into the twins eye! That way the twin will be too preoccupied with trying to not go blind to see that there are the tons people they had captured are getting rescued. It was the perfect distraction... despite the fact that his partner got eaten alive later because of it, but... desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess." She shrugged.

Arnold didn't say anything for a moment, as he let her words sink in. Suddenly he smiled. "I guess you're right. It was kinda selfish though. He could have just jabbed the twin's eye with his own arm, but instead he opted to using his partner's arm instead. Don't _you_ think that's a little selfish?" He asked as they began walking down the sidewalk, with the sun setting in oranges, golds, and purples over the horizon.

Helga just shrugged again. "It was kind of a "Heat of the Moment" type thing. We of all people should know about that, eh Football Head?" She nudged his arm playfully as they walked.

Arnold became stiff for a few moments at the mention of "Heat of the Moment". He gulped. Choosing to ignore her last statement.

"Hey Helga, I'm really glad you decided to turn over a new leaf since the FTi thing. I... You're an awful lot sweeter and kinda... nice to be around now." He glanced at her nervously.

Helga smiled in wonderment at how cute he could be, but remained facing forward as she replied, "Well thanks, Arnold. The funny thing is I don't remember ever making the decision to 'turn over a new leaf'. I guess I must have though." She looked over at him.

"I guess so." His nervous glance morphed into a sincere smile.

She smiled back lightly. His heart began beating faster. He gulped again. _'Oh...'_ He faced forward and found he was able to breath. He chanced a glance at her again and found her staring off into the sunset with a glazed over look, like she was lost in the beauty of it. He melted at the sight. He was suddenly struck with an idea. He grinned and grabbed Helga's hand quick and began pulling her gently in the other direction. Helga looked confused by his actions.

"Helga, have you ever been to the pier at sunset?" He asked softly.

She squinted her brow in a look of pure perplexity. "No... never." She replied slowly, wondering where he was going with this. Well, of course she could figure he wanted to take her to the pier, the real question on her rather dazed mind was... why?

His grin only increased and he began walking a bit faster, dragging her along with. They traveled like this up until they were almost there. Arnold's grin only got bigger and bigger as they went, up until it almost reached from ear to ear of his football shaped head. Finally they were standing in an alley, and just around the corner after they exited would be the pier. He stopped right before they were able to reach the other end of the alley and turned to Helga.

His grin softened into a small smile at the contented look on Helga's face, obviously enjoying the contact their hands were making. He grabbed her other hand in his free hand and asked, "Are you ready for this?" Her contented look turned into one of pure ecstasy at the extra closeness and simply nodded.

He grinned again and began slowly bringing her out of the alley and around the corner to the pier, all the while still holding her hands. She severed her gaze from his eyes and as soon as she did, they widened and her jaw fell slack. Arnold smiled and led her out onto the dock, closer to the sight.

They both sat down on the edge and stared off into the sight. It was beautiful. The water reflected the oranges, reds, golds, and purples as it rippled them all together, sparkling here and there. The clouds were scattered about the sky, highlighted by the brilliant colors of the sunset. And then far off, yet seemingly close was the sun leisurely dipping further and further into the horizon. Helga could hardly believe her eyes. She had never seen anything so beautiful, but then she looked over at Arnold who seemed to be enjoying the sight of her more than the sunset, and suddenly remembered the one thing in thing in the world that could possibly compete with the sunset's beauty. Arnold. Oh yes, she was going to be filling many more volumes with poems of this very moment.

Arnold was in awe at how lovely Helga's eyes looked with the sunset reflecting in them and how her hair glistened with almost as much intensity as the sunset itself. His face took on a dreamy stature. Then Helga looked over at him and seemed to mirror his look right back. Arnold lost himself as soon as her gaze focused on him. He began leaning in closer as Helga did the same. Their lips were only millimeters apart when...

"Hey Stinky, look! It's _Helga_ and Arnold!" They heard Sid say loudly. They quickly withdrew their lips, eyes, and thoughts from their previous endeavor. Arnold found himself annoyed by the unforeseen interruption.

"I reckon you're right, Sid." Stinky said back, loudly also with his usual southern drawl. They seemed to want them to be able to hear them loud and clear. Or maybe just Helga.

Helga and Arnold turned to find Stinky and Sid standing just a few feet behind them.

Helga took on a weary look and waved at them. They immediately began waving back enthusiastically with huge grins on their faces.

Arnold became inwardly annoyed. "Hey Stinky," He waved at him. "Sid," He switched his wave to Sid. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked trying to sound as pleasant as possible, with a smile plastered onto his oblong head.

Sid answered, "Oh, we just thought it might be nice to come down to the pier... and uh... see the sunset. It's awfully pretty isn't it, Helga?"

Helga's weary look suddenly blossomed into a look of astonishment as she stared off into the horizon once again before answering softly, "It's gorgeous."

Stinky's expression turned dreamy and dazed, Sid noticed and elbowed him in the gut quick before they noticed.

Too late.

Arnold noticed and wasn't too happy about it. "Well, that's nice. I guess we've all seen the sunset now." He looked to Helga as he stood. "Maybe you can come over to the boarding house with me? We can just talk or something."

Helga looked up at him and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Stinky. "Actually, we were gonna ask Miss Helga is she wanted to join us for ice cream at Slausens."

"Yeah, we'll even pay." Sid smiled hopefully.

Helga was about to reply but was cut off again, only this time by Arnold.

"Actually, we have ice cream at the boarding house for _free_, so if Helga really wants ice cream, maybe that would be better. It'll save you guys the time and money." He scowled inwardly, but kept up appearance outward.

Sid and Stinky looked at eachother questioningly before Sid replied, "Well, we don't mind at all. We just wanted to hang out with Helga for a while."

Stinky nodded as he said this. Helga was about to reply when Arnold cut her off yet again. "Well, it's getting kinda late. It would surely be dark out by the time you finished and Helga probably doesn't want to walk home alone when it's dark out. Right, Helga?" He turned to her.

She was about to answer when Stinky cut her off. "Well, garsh, we were gonna walk her home, Arnold." He sounded a little insulted that Arnold would think they would let her just walk home alone in the dark of the night. Sid crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Helga was about to say something but Arnold cut her off _AGAIN_!"I don't think-" Helga stood up abruptly and put a hand onto Arnold's mouth. "Well I _do_ think." She sounded really peeved. The boys couldn't figure out why. _'Typical._..' She found herself thinking as she rolled her eyes. "I can't go to the boarding house or go to Slausens. My sister has to head back up to Alaska tomorrow evening and she wanted me to get home soon so we can_ 'bond'_." She used air quotations around the word '_bond_', all the while rolling her eyes. "So I'm sorry but I just can't." Once she was finished, she removed her hand from Arnold's mouth.

Stinky and Sid's shoulders slouched dejectedly. Suddenly Stinky's face became hopeful again. "Maybe tomorrow we could steal you away from your sister's visit. We know how you hate havin' to watch your parents fawn over her. And you said it's at it's worst on the last days of her visit." Sid suddenly straightened up at the proposal and waited hopefully.

She thought for a moment. 'Maybe. I don't know how tomorrow is gonna turn out. After school I'm gonna be bombarded by _kisses _and _hugs_ by _Ol-ga_." She shivered from the mere thought of it. "And then Phoebe will probably want to study with me or something considering the history test on Monday. I guess if I get any free time in between I can call you guys up and we can hit Slausens." She smiled, happily at the thought of getting a break tomorrow. It was undoubtedly going to be a _long _day.

Stinky and Sid perked up and nodded enthusiastically.

Arnold was less than happy at the thought of Helga being around two boys who obviously had some sort of thing for her. He shook his head.

Helga waved farewell to Stinky and Sid as they left, leaving Arnold and Helga alone once again. She turned to her shorter companion. "I should probably get going now. You headed my direction?"

All unpleasant thoughts suddenly vanished and he nodded and took her hand as they began back in the direction of her house.

He looked at her as they walked. "Helga, if you can spare any time tomorrow..." He looked away shyly. "There's something I kinda wanted to tell you."

She looked at him curiously. "You can always tell me now."

He shook his head. "No, it's kinda important. It would be better if we could go to the park or maybe the pier again or... my house might actually be best." He glanced at her, waiting patiently for a response.

She returned his look tenderly and answered, "I think I could probably work you into my busy schedule tomorrow." She blew some air out her nose at how haughty that sounded.

Arnold didn't notice. He was just happy to get some of her time tomorrow. He was finally going to tell her how he felt. He had thought about his feelings a lot the night before but was still rather unsure. But just recently today, he had finally come to a conclusion, he had wanted to tell her this evening at his house, maybe after dinner, if she would have accepted the invitation, but he hadn't counted on her having to go home so soon. He was excited about tomorrow now. He looked at her again and smiled a lovesick smile.

He had no idea _why_ Helga had hid this amazing person from the world... but he was glad she was out and about now.

* * *

**A/N: OH! Arnold knows how he feels now! I think ya'll know what he wants to tell her. ;) Little does he know tomorrow the old Helga may be coming back with a vengeance! What will happen? You'll just have to wait and see. But for now...**

**REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sup my peoples!?**

**WARNING! **

**LONG CHAPTER! IT WAS A MASSIVE PAIN IN THE BUTT TO FINISH THIS! SO YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DEAL WITH IT! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh crap! *Cough***

**Point is, just enjoy...**

**Disclaimer: Me still no owny Hey Arnold! *Sigh* BIG surprise there!**

* * *

**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 5**

Phoebe took a deep breath before entering the building that Mr. Hypno resided in. Not because she was nervous or anything. It just _really_ stunk in there.

She turned opened the creaking, large door and walked in. "Mr. Hypno?! Are you home?!" She called into the long dark hallway, where the only source of light was the small amount of sunlight creeping in from the door she had yet to close. She turned on her flashlight and slowly, hesitantly closed the door.

She walked down the dark, damp hallway. Much like she did just yesterday. It was about six in the morning, kinda early to go spooking around for 'no good hacks', as Gerald had called him. But she wanted to get Helga back to normal as soon as possible.

She couldn't complain about the new Helga, or rather same Helga that was hidden but was now unveiled, but she felt it would be best to get her back to normal before anything else happened.

It had only been about 4 days, and already there were boys buzzing around her like bees acting as if she was the only source of honey in the whole town. Phoebe had seen how all the girls got along rather well with her now. She was, after all, a lot friendlier. But worst, or maybe best, of all... Phoebe had caught Arnold staring at her with THAT look. It probably wasn't good to get too emotionally attached to Helga's secret side, because that's what it was supposed to be. A secret. A secret that Helga had worked years on hiding out of fear that her classmates would mock her. Well, if anything, this whole experience proved she was just overly paranoid and had just wasted the last seven years of her life building up walls to protect herself from NOTHING!

Helga had always blamed her parents because... well, they were to blame.

Simple as that.

Even Phoebe couldn't complain with _that_ logic. Her parents did pretty much suck.

_'Oh well...Like Helga says, "Can't change the past."' _Phoebe thought as she came across the door to Mr. Hypno's kitchen/living-room/bedroom/library. She opened it up to find Mr. Hypno passed out on the couch. He was laying on his back with his feet propped up on the arm rest. His mouth was wide open and you could see the drool threatening to escape from the corners of his mouth. He just laid there. Snoring all the while.

Phoebe cringed at the horrible snoring sounds coming from the slumbering form of Mr. Hypno. She tip toed over to him, wondering how she should go about waking him up.

She shook him a little. No response. She shook a little rougher. Still nothing. Nothing but snoring. She soon decided she was going to need more light than just a measly little flashlight if she was to accomplish her task. She flipped the light switch and the lights, in turn, clicked on. She smiled victoriously and ran back over to Mr. Hypno, who still remained asleep. She shook him vigorously, and he finally stirred. She smiled at her triumph.

Mr. Hypno opened his eyes and finally ceased that wretched noise coming from deep inside his throat. He swallowed the pool of saliva that had been collecting in his mouth and looked over to see who had dared to wake him. His eyes came into focus on a little Asian girl with dark hair and glasses. He automatically jumped from the couch and held out his arms to keep his intruder at bay. He searched the room with his eyes for some sort of weapon.

"Oh no! There's nothing but worthless garbage around here! I can't fight anyone off with this trash! Why do I even keep this crap? Oh yeah... I'm broke." He muttered, panicky yet quietly, finishing dryly.

Phoebe blinked at his defensive behavior, and cleared her throat. "Hello again, Mr. Mantle." She smiled a little.

He looked over again at the girl. His eyes focused a little better despite the fact that he had just woken up, and quickly recognized her as the young girl that had visited him the other day. He let out a relieved sigh and let his arms fall to his sides. He dropped back down to the couch and smiled at her.

"Hey, that's Mr. Hypno to you, young lady." He teased, sticking his index finger at her. "Especially today. Considering..." He looked away. Still slightly ashamed at himself for causing so many problems.

"Yes. I came over to see if you were ready to de-hypnotize my friend."

He turned his head, facing her. "You want to do it now?" He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the clock quick before facing her again. "It's 6:07 am, you know. Do you really want to do this now?"

"The sooner the better. And I wanted to get this issue taken care of before school."

He blinked and sighed. "Fine, fine. I'm just not used to waking up this early." He got up off the couch and walked over to his fridge. He opened it and grabbed a jar of pickles and a book.

He tossed them in a plain, white bag and put on his coat. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a matching gray sweatshirt, along with his dark blue, jean jacket he now adorned.

"Let's head out."

Phoebe nodded and they were soon on their way to finally snapping Helga out of it. She was smiling the whole way. But she was also pretty nervous. What if it didn't work? What if he couldn't do it? What book did he check out this time? Did it have any sort of woodland creatures in it? These questions whirled around in her head on their way there.

And the only way any of them were going to be answered was once they had the old Helga back... or not.

* * *

Arnold woke up that morning excitedly.

Soon he would finally get to tell Helga how he felt.

It had taken him the remainder of the Summer and about four days with the _real_ Helga to figure it out. Not to mention a good talk with his grandpa.

***Flashback***

_Arnold had been laying in his bed for most of the night trying to get some sleep, but failing miserably._

_After another half hour of failed attempts at sleep he finally decided to go down stairs._

_'maybe some nice, warm milk will help', He had thought._

_He had been able to think of nothing but Helga the whole night. He was still trying to figure out his feelings and it was driving him insane. Next thing he would know, he would be singing and dancing on top of the dining room table along with his grandma._

_He shook his head as he descended the stairs._

_He walked into the kitchen, and to his surprise, Grandpa was still awake and reading yesterday's newspaper. The elder looked up and cocked an eyebrow at his grandson._

_"Hey there, Shortman. What are you doing up so late?" He asked suspiciously._

_Arnold yawned some before answering, "Couldn't sleep. Thought some warm milk might help." He trudged over to the fridge exhaustively._

_"Something on your mind, Shortman?"_

_Arnold looked over at him for a second before going back to his task of pouring some milk in a glass. "You could say that." He answered quietly._

_Phil heard him though. "Well, why don't ya pull up a chair and tell this old fossil what's been keepin' ya up." He smiled slightly._

_Arnold placed the glass of milk in the microwave and pressed a few buttons, then he turned around to see his grandpa already pulling out a chair for him._

_He sighed, but complied._

_Once he had sat down he spoke, "It's about this girl..." He started. "She told me she um... liked... well,** loved** me. The only problem is that I'm not sure how I feel about her." He looked up from the table top and looked into his grandfather's knowing eyes focused on him._

_Phil chuckled some. "It's that little girl with the one-eyebrow, isn't it?" He smirked._

_Arnold sighed. He already knew where this was going. "Yes, Grandpa. Helga."_

_Phil chuckled a bit more in triumph. "I told you that girl liked you. And what did you say? Oh yes! You said I was crazy." He smirked again._

_Arnold dropped his head onto the table top and remained there. _

_Phil smiled sympathetically at the young boy. "I'll tell you how you know you're in love, Arnold."_

_Arnold looked up, suddenly interested._

_"You're still young, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you've never truly been in love before."_

_Arnold nodded. "Yeah, I've had plenty of crushes. But I don't think I could call any of them love."_

_Grandpa's smile widened a bit. "Well then, it's very simple..." He leaned forward and looked Arnold straight in the eye. "When you're in love... you'll know." He whispered._

_Arnold raised an eyebrow questioningly and was about to ask what he meant when Grandpa suddenly stood up quick and folded his newspaper under his arm. "One more word of advice Arnold." He spoke, sounding pained. "NEVER eat raspberries!" He yelled as he fled from the room, straight in the direction of the bathroom._

***Flashback***

Arnold chuckled slightly at the memory. He had had no idea what he had meant by that. He had just figured it was more of his grandpa's meaningless and pointless advice. Much like his constant 'Never eat rasberries' advice that was always lurking in the back of his mind.

He shook his head to clear it of anymore thoughts of raspberries. Today was a big day. He had always lucked out with the ladies... but not today! When he had told Lila how he felt, (and at the time there was no doubt in his mind that she still felt the same) she had informed him RIGHT after that she had had the revelation that she didn't really feel that way about him. That hurt. But Helga had been there to comfort him...

He smiled. He couldn't believe he didn't see it before. The constant taunting directed mainly at him. The spitballs. He shuddered slightly at that. The looks casted in his direction that he had always noticed but never understood. The rare instances where she'd actually be nice and be there for him. At the time, he had always thought about it a lot, but never really_ thought_ about it... and he couldn't deny that he had kinda suspected it in the back of the cold. dark chasms of his mind. But he didn't want to think of Helga in **that** way... at _**all**!_

But after the whole 'I LOVE YOU! LOVE YOU!' incident, he had kinda been forced to think of her in **that **way. Which at first, terrified, horrified, and almost mummified him, considering all the time he had wasted over the Summer thinking, or rather, being haunted by the whole situation. But when she had come back to school acting all... His eyes glazed over just at the thought of it. _'Sweet, and kind, and funny, but still as spunky and witty as ever. And wonderful in every single-'_ His thought were interrupted by the sound of someone tapping furiously at his skylight window.

He looked up at the desperate, pleading eyes of Helga, herself. He was weirded out by this, but secretly happy all the same. It was only about 6:40. He liked to get up early to get an early start. But he knew Helga didn't...

He raised an eyebrow at her. She mouthed, 'Help me' at him and he blinked, processing what exactly she wanted him to do and what she wanted him to help her _with. _

He walked over onto his bed and climbed up the indented ladder in the wall and opening the window, intending to come out and ask what was wrong. But as soon as he opened it up she forced her way in, quickly. He fell back onto his bed and she fell on top of him. They both blushed briefly before Helga remembered why she was here. She jumped up quick and ran over to secure the window.

Arnold sat up, the blush not completely gone from his face. He had tons of questions swirling around in his head. He decided to start with the basics.

"How did you get on my roof?"

She jumped down from the ladder onto his bed after completing her task. Now sitting Indian-style, facing him. "Fire escape." She replied simply, but he could still sense the startled and slightly scared edge in her voice.

"Oh..." He contemplated his next question. He was about to ask her why she was here when she suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders with wide, terrified, yet beautiful blue eyes staring into his. She shook him slightly. She didn't need to. She _definitely_ had his full attention.

She started frantically, though in a hushed tone, "Arnold, I was woken up earlier by Phoebe and some greasy guy in sweats! She had this really final look on her face, man!" She looked around his room in a paranoid fashion before looking back at him, continuing, "I know I haven't exactly been acting 'myself' lately, but that's _no _reason to hire an exorcist!"

Arnold raised an eyebrow at her. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly through his nose at her 'overreacting' behavior. _'Only Helga...'_ He thought humorously.

He took her arms off of his shoulders gently, and then put his own on her shoulders. He looked her straight in the eyes, being careful not to get lost in them and replied firmly, but softly, "Helga, I don't know why Phoebe and 'some greasy guy in sweats'..." He struggled keeping his firm expression, but managed not to laugh. He continued after successfully restraining himself, "...was at your home. But I highly doubt it was an exorcist. I really think you're overreacting." He still had questions that needed to be answered, so he asked, letting go of her shoulders, "How did you get here without supposedly getting 'exorsized'?"

She blinked, and swallowed. Clearly not completely giving up her theory. "I, uh, climbed out my window and onto a tree branch..." She avoided an and all eye contact, "...And sorta climbed down it and well... came here. Doi!" She finally looked at him, startled by the small smile on his face.

"What?" She asked.

His mind couldn't help but flash back to the exact moment he had realized he loved her...

***Flashback***

_They had still been watching the movie. It was around the middle of it, right when some really stupid old lady was wandering out of her house to see what all the ruckus was._

_The kids watched in awe as the old lady came out and was immediately stunned to be staring into the very unnerving, **much** wider eyes than normal of an evil twin._

_Helga chuckled loudly, only slightly obnoxiously at the stupid woman. "What a moroon! How could she not see that coming?! She had just been watching the news and how all those people had been abducted by evil twins!" She whispered, still laughing a bit._

_He laughed slightly. "She probably didn't believe it, don't'cha think?"_

_Helga snorted and muttered, "Couldn't hurt to stay on the safe side." _

_They returned their attention back to the movie. Completely in awe and very mild disgust as the evil twin commenced knocking her unconscious and began spitting out some odd, gooey slime onto her. They hadn't gotten to the part where they'd explained why the twins did that. But they thought it was cool._

_The scene switched over to one of the good guys dressed all in black, making his way inside the air-vents of the old house to avoid getting caught by one of the twins._

_Arnold smiled at how cool he found that to be. "Wow, spies get to have all the fun! Look at that!" He gestured to the screen where the guy had just come out of the air-vent and was now outside. He then threw up a grapeling hook to the top of the roof and commenced climbing it. He heard Helga snort in defiance. He looked over at her curiously._

_She replied, not taking her eyes off the screen ahead, "PUH-lease, going through air-vents and scaling walls is just too easy! I've done that plenty of times!" She then looked over at him, her face serious. "And I can assure you, Arnold, it is most definitely not fun. Terrifying, yes. But fun?" She shook her head furiously. She looked pensive for a moment. "Well," She looked back at the screen. "I don't know. Maybe it would be fun if it wasn't under nightmarish circumstances."_

_He was surprised by this. 'Helga's done this kinda stuff before?' He had thought. 'And under nightmarish circumstances?'_

_"When did you scale walls and go through air-vents?" He looked at her questioningly._

_She looked back at him with wide eyes, her unibrow well past her bangs. "Uh... Well, I guess I can tell you. For some reason I don't think I'd mind if you knew." She smiled at him, he smiled back. "There have been several instances in the past where I've almost let the cat out of the bag. You know..." She leaned in real close, Arnold found himself not wanting to back away at all. So he sat still, her face only inches from his. She smiled, slyly. "The fact that I loooooove you." She snickered and backed away, Arnold blushed, turning back to the movie until his embarrassment subsided._

_She continued once her amusement of his blushing was fully gone, "And well, when these instances occurred..." He looked back at her, his blush now gone. "I found that the only way to protect my secret was to go into mission mode. So I've scaled your walls a few times, I've been in your ventilation system without your knowledge, and I've actually been in your room two or three times without your permission." She laughed at the look of shock on his face._

_'She's been in my house without me or anyone else knowing before?!" His shock slowly deteriorated and soon turned to admiration. 'Wow, that's pretty impressive... and slightly creepy. But then again, Helga can be kinda creepy at times. That's surprisingly one of the many things I love about her.' He looked back at the screen, with a blank face. _

_He blinked once. Suddenly his eyes flew wide open in realization at what he had just thought. '**LOVE?!** Did I just think that I loved many things about **Helga**?!' He looked over at her and his heart started pounding hard in his chest, his hands started getting sweaty, his brain seemed to numb in pure bliss just at the sight of her, thousands of feelings flashing throughout him, some feeling quite foreign._

_She remained oblivious to his thoughts and actions as he sat there, staring at her. His heart was still pounding a mile a minute and the feelings were still coursing through him, but his sweaty palms problem was over. Now he just sat there, silently admiring her. And it was then he realized something that had been there for a long time. _

_*Flashback in a Flashback*_

_On the first day of pre-school, the first person he saw upon exiting his grandpa's old Packard was a little girl with drooping, golden pigtails, in pink over-alls over a plain white shirt, and a big pink bow atop her head. _

_As soon as he saw her, he knew she was special. He couldn't explain it, but he just felt like there was just something about this girl. She was drenched in mud, looking on the verge of tears, while walking alone in the rain. He couldn't stand to see someone so sad, especially not **this** girl, for some reason. _

_He walked up to her and held his umbrella over her to try and make her feel better. She looked up, puzzled at the sudden lack of cold raindrops plummeting down on her. She looked over at him. He smiled._

_"Hi, nice bow." _

_She looked at him strangely, like she wasn't used to anyone actually paying any attention to her. "Huh?"_

_"I like your bow, because it's pink like your pants.", He said smiling, as he walked over to the doors of the pre-school with her still by his side._

_He walked into the building and hung up his rain coat and hung his umbrella at it's side. He turned around to see the little girl still outside, looking at him through the glass door. She had this sweet smile on her face, and her eyes were half-lidded. He smiled back. Her eyes suddenly flew open all the way and she blinked, then she just looked away, shyly._

_He stumbled over, tripping over his own feet, and opened the door for her, smiling despite his embarrassment and obvious blush._

_She giggled and walked in. He closed the door slowly, not taking his eyes off of her. She just stood there, observing him curiously. They just stood there for a moment, staring at eachother in wonderment. He walked a little closer and held out his hand._

_"I'm Arnold." He smiled at her._

_She just stared at the hand in confusion for a second before taking it, hesitantly. "I'm Helga. Helga G. Pataki."_

_His smile only grew and he shook her hand gently. "Nice to meet you, Helga G. Pataki."_

_She smiled back. "Just call me Helga." She replied softly._

_He nodded, still holding her hand. He couldn't explain it at the time, but he felt weird around this girl. He liked holding her hand and seeing her smile. _

_Suddenly the pre-school teacher came out of no where. She smiled at them. They were still holding hands, staring at the odd lady._

_She had brown hair up in a ponytail, she looked very young and had a child-like look to her, and was wearing a light purple skirt that went down to her knees along with a black t-shirt tucked in that read "Toys 4 Tots" and some white sneakers._

_She looked over at Helga and frowned. She walked over to the girl, and took her free hand gently. "Poor thing, your drenched to the bone, and your covered from head to toe in mud!" She shook her head. __"Who brought you here, sweetie?" _

_Helga looked up, tears flashing in her eyes as she finally let go of Arnold's hand, much to his displeasure. "I walked..." She looked away, sadly._

_Arnold frowned at her sadness, and the pre-school teacher's eyebrows shot up. "In the rain? Where were your parents when you did this?"_

_She looked back up at her, "With my older sister, Olga. She was pwaying the piano."_

_The pre-school teacher scrunched her eyebrows together. "You mean at a concert?"_

_Helga shook her head. "No, at home. They wouldn't take me so I walked."_

_The pre-school teacher frowned immensely and began leading her to the bathroom. "Well, this just won't do. Come, let's get you all cleaned up, Sweetie." She smiled weakly at the little girl at her side._

_Helga nodded and waved to Arnold. "Bye, Arnold! I guess, I'll see ya later!" She smiled slightly._

_He waved back, smiling in anticipation of when he'd get to see the sweet, little girl again._

_*Flashback in a Flashback*_

_Arnold was still staring at her adoringly as these memories flashed through his mind. She smirked at some guy in the movie getting slaughtered, and it made Arnold's memory flash back to when he did see the sweet, little girl again..._

_*Flashback in a Flashback*_

_It had been about an hour since he'd seen Helga. He was still anxious to see her again, and maybe hold her hand again. He blushed at the thought. _

_Since then he had met several other kids. One of which who had a pretty big stack of hair on his head, with really dark skin named Gerald. They had instantly taken a liking to eachother and had even come up with a secret handshake. Arnold could tell right away that they'd be really good friends._

_He was still looking around, hoping to find Helga again. He looked around some more as he walked through the door that led to the lobby that held all the kid's coats and umbrellas. _

_He had left Gerald to play with some little, Asian girl named Phoebe. As he turned the corner that led to the bathrooms, the girl's door suddenly opened and there was the golden haired girl. She was clean now, looking around nervously. The pre-school teacher came out behind her and noticed Arnold. She smiled and whispered something in her ear. _

_Helga didn't seem to notice him till after the lady had whispered in her ear. She saw him and her eyes widened. She blinked a couple times at him. He just smiled. Her shock of seeing him seemed to melt as soon as he smiled and she walked over to him. The nice lady just walked off, whistling nonchalantly._

_Helga smiled at him sweetly. "Hi." _

_His smile widened. "Hi, Helga."_

_They began walking back to the play area together. He looked over at her and noticed her observing him._

_He smiled still and asked, "What?"_

_She snickered a little. "Nothing. You just have a funny head. Kinda like a football." She laughed some more. "Maybe I should start calling you football-head." She smiled at him._

_He blinked and lost his smile. She noticed and corrected herself quickly. "NO! No, no, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I think it's cute." She blushed a little but still held eye contact._

_He blushed at her comment and instantly got his smile back. "Thanks."_

_"Yeah, payback for that whole bow comment." They both laughed lightly._

_Just as they were laughing, the pre-school teacher came in with a box filled with grahm crackers and juice boxes and announced, "Snack Time!" _

_As soon as these words left her mouth a chubby kid named Harold instantly jumped up from the blocks he was playing with and ran over to the little snack tables with tremendous speed. He jumped up and landed in a seat at one of the tables, causing all the other seats and the table to bounce slightly at his weight. He grinned at the teacher. She laughed lightly at his enthusiasm._

_"Alright, everyone to the tables."_

_Helga smiled at Arnold, "I'm going to go sit over there," She pointed to the seat right next to Harold. "Okay?"_

_He just nodded, smiling and went to intentionally sit at the table right across from her's. His friend Gerald came over and sat next to him as the teacher began passing out the snacks._

_"So, you like that little blonde girl or something?"_

_Arnold blinked at his friend's unheard question, reluctantly drawing his eyes away from Helga. "Huh?"_

_Gerald rolled his eyes at his new friend's lack of focus on anything but the girl. He had heard his older brother drone on and on about girls before. So he could tell pretty easily when someone liked someone else. "I asked you if you liked that blonde girl or something."_

_Arnold smiled at the mention of Helga. "Yeah, I like her. She's sweet." _

_Gerald snickered. "I meant **like** her." He wiggled his eyebrows for emphasis._

_Arnold raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh?"_

_Gerald blinked at his friend's denseness. "Never mind." _

_By this time everyone had their snacks and were happily munching on them. Arnold was too distracted by his new friend to notice Helga staring dreamily at him._

_They laughed and did their handshake again._

_Arnold smiled. "This is fun."_

_Gerald nodded happily._

_Just after Gerald nodded, Arnold heard some loud, obnoxious laughing coming from Helga's table and looked up to see that Harold had just stuffed her grahm crackers down his throat._

_Arnold saw that Helga had tears sparkling in her crystal blue eyes and looked down at his own plate. He picked it up and trotted over to her without giving his actions a second thought._

_He held out his plate to her and she looked down at it, just as the tears that had recently been trapped in her eyes managed to escape and run down her cheeks. She looked up at him, questioningly._

_He smiled at her and asked pleasantly, "Want mine?"_

_She just nodded and took his plate from him. His smile never phased as he walked away, waving and smiling at her over his shoulder._

_She waved back, smiling weakly just when he turned back to his table and sat down. Gerald gave him a sly smile paired with knowing, half-lidded eyes. Arnold was confused by this and was about to ask him why he was looking at him like that when he suddenly heard even more laughing. Not just from Harold, but everybody else at the table._

_Arnold noticed that Gerald seemed to lose the strange look on his face and was now just smiling at whatever was going on._

_Arnold looked over at the table and saw Helga look at him for a second before looking down and suddenly clenching her fists tight, an unfamiliar scowl evident on her face. She jumped up and pushed the large boy down to the floor while yelling, "Quit laughing, Geek-bait! Or you'll have to answer to old Betsey and the... and the five avengers!" She held out her fists as she yelled this and he backed away until he ran into the wall._

_Harold was still on the ground, and was now looking at Helga stupidly, "Old who, and the five what?"_

_Her scowl deepened. "My fists, stupid! That's their names!"_

_"What?! Your fists have names?!" He closed his eyes and put his hands on top of his head and screamed, "Ahhhhh! You're confusing me!"_

_Helga jumped up and intentionally landed on his gut, causing his eyes to pop out and a horrible, "Blllaaaah!" noise to be forced from his mouth._

_She walked away and ran right through the small, Asian girl's tower of blocks, causing it to tumble down in her rampage._

_Helga continued her scowl as she did this and said in the bossiest voice she could muster, "I'm the boss around here!" She looked over her shoulder as she stalked off. "Got it?!"_

_They all simply nodded._

_Arnold's jaw was practically touching the floor he was so shocked. What happened to the sweet, kind, and slightly shy little girl he had come to know... or so he thought. His jaw was still slack from shock when he got up and wandered over to her._

_She was currently out in the lobby, growling with her fists still clenched. Her back was to him when he slowly, cautiously made his way to her. He lightly touched her back. "Helga?" She suddenly spun around, startling him and causing him to take a step back._

_She looked so scared and rejected. She just looked at him, her eyes silently pleading for him to help her. He wasn't sure how he could. Her eyes suddenly focused on something behind him and the hurt and fear turned to panic for a moment._

_He turned slightly to see what she was looking at and noticed the two boys he had meet earlier smirking at them. Their names were Sid and Stinky if he remembered right. He blinked and heard a growl coming from his left. He looked to Helga and was once again surprised by what he saw._

_She had a dark, menacing scowl spread across her once innocent face, her soft hands balled into fists, and her her eyes almost daring the two toddlers to mess with her. They immediately lost their smirks, but remained standing there. Their expressions soon became fearful and they looked like they were about to flee... that is until Harold came over to see what they were looking at._

_Upon seeing them, he looked startled, probably by Helga's look of fury. He soon began smiling in humor and started laughing obnoxiously._

_"Having fun with Arw-nawld?" He laughed some more._

_Helga looked murderous, and looked like she was about to kill him. Arnold saw this and stood in front of her._

_"No Helga, it wouldn't be right." He looked at her, his eyes narrowed in worry. Her expression softened._

_"Yeah, Hel-ga, we know you'll listen to Arw-nawld!" He laughed some more and the two boys at his sides joined in._

_Helga looked panicked again and swiftly pushed Arnold to the ground. The boys immediately stopped laughing._

_Helga gave him a look of hurt at what she was about to do, but swallowed her fears, masking them behind a venomous scowl. She scowled down at him and growled._

_"Move it,** Football-head!**" He blinked at the way she said the little joke nickname she gave him earlier. It wasn't laced with humor and a hint of affection. Instead it was said with spite and anger. Clearly meant as an insult. He blinked back tears and backed away slightly._

_For a second, he could see regret flash in her eyes, but it was gone as fast as it came._

_She stormed through the three terrified boys at the enterance of the play area. Pushing and shoving. "One side, **morons!**"_

_He had no idea what had happened to that sweet, little girl he felt so good around. He had felt so happy and at ease. His heart always picked up pace whenever he had been near her. He couldn't label the feeling at the time; He just knew he felt kinda funny when she was around him._

_But now that sweet, wonderful girl had been replaced by a big, old bully! But that just didn't make any sense! He buried his feelings for her, just as the sweet, little girl had been buried._

_'If you ever want to come out again and be my friend... I'll let you. I'll definitely let you." He thought as a single tear ran down his face in mourning of the sweet, little girl he had loved._

_*Flashback in a Flashback*_

_But now here she was again. That sweet, wonderful, little girl he had loved so long ago. He had buried his love for her just as she had buried her sweeter side. Oh yes, he always loved** this **girl. He didn't love the girl she pretended to be daily. Not at all. But he did love what he knew was there. Buried deep down inside of her. That was why he had always tried so hard to be her friend and bring out the good in her. Heck, that was why he tried so hard to see the good in everyone. But those feelings had always increased in matters of Helga._

_So now here she was. Helga, his first and only love, his little darling. _

_She still remained oblivious to his staring. That was good. He didn't want to confess his love in the middle of an old movie theater that reeked of rotting soft pretzels dipped in cottage cheese, and was currently playing a gory horror film. That wasn't exactly his definition of 'romantic'. He had to wait till the time was right._

_'Soon, Helga. Soon.' He gazed lovingly at her the remainder of the movie, as she remained engrossed in the movie before her, completely oblivious._

_***Flashback***_

Arnold was broken from his thoughts suddenly by someone pounding on his door.

Helga jumped at the noise.

"Who is it?!" He yelled from his spot, still facing Helga.

"It's Phoebe! I was just wondering if Helga was here. I need to talk to her!" A pause. "Could you let me in?!"

"It's open!"

The door swung open to reveal a tall man in gray sweats carrying a plain, white bag with Phoebe in front of him looking at Helga seriously.

Helga's pupils shrank at the sight of them.

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**A/N: Phew! That was long! I seriously hope you enjoyed this because I spent a _long _time laboring over this. But it was worth it and I had fun. So... YAY! Although I could do without all those mushy, lovey-dovey scenes. But what the people want, the people get. Ya'll betta appreciate this. ;) Next chapter will be up soon! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH...!**

**If you read this, then you are NOW obligated to review! Unless you hated it, in which case, you're off the hook. I have no desire to read anyone's flames. I'm an indestructible wall and your evil words can't hurt me no matter how sharp! Trust me! I've been called some pretty bad stuff before, and after a while you really don't care anymore. Anyway...**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!! please?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hola person who is currently reading this!**

**Great, chapter 6! But before you start reading, I would like to address anyone who may be having mixed feelings about the current events in this story. Okay, I get that some of you don't want Helga back to normal and that you feel once she is it'll ruin everything... but I don't know what to say other than that I have everything under control. I know everything seems wrong to some of you right now... but I assure you, I'm not one to write stories with horrible endings. I have it all planned out and everything is going to be fine. Things are going to take a turn for the worse in the next chapter and maybe the one after that, but everything is going to be fine. I realize some of you believe that it would be best if Helga stayed the way she is because she's much more stable and is getting so much positive attention from Arnold, but I don't feel it would be best if Helga just stayed hypnotized the rest of her life. It kinda seems like cheating to me. I mean, what if she were to randomly 'wake up' at age 48? She would probably go senile! Just think about how traumatic that would be! To go from 10 to 48 in the blink of an eye! NO! *Shudders at thought***

**My point is, Helga's life is going to get worse, I'm not denying that, but after _that_... well, I don't want to ruin the ending. =D **

**So buckle your seat belts, hold on tight, and know that just like a roller coaster, although scary as heck, always ends with you getting off safely with a huge grin on your face.**

**I LOVE YOU ALL! I would never put you through any undeserved torment... for too long.**

**Just read and enjoy... I've got a serious headache here. "Aspirin! ASPIRIN!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"**

**Disclaimer: Me somehow knew you was going to ask me that. *Sigh* And no, me still no owny Hey Arnold! and will NEVER own Hey Arnold! So seriously! _STOP ASKING!_**

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**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 6**

"Helga-"

"NO! I WILL NOT BE EXORCISED! I'M FINE!" Helga yelled frantically as she jumped up on the bed and took off her bow and started whipping it around in an attempt scare them off.

Mr. Hypno raised an eyebrow. "Exorcised? What are you talking about?" He asked as he started walking towards her.

She whipped her bow around in response. "I'm talking about how you want to tie me to a bed, kicking and screaming, and throw some holy water on me or something! Well I ain't havin' it! BACK! BACK I SAY!"

Phoebe couldn't help but laugh at Helga's irrational behavior. "Oh Helga, you have it all backwards. Exorcists are meant to ward off evil spirits, not good and kind ones. He's most certainly not an exorcist."

She stopped abruptly and looked to Phoebe. "He's not? Then who in the name of creation is he?" She put her hands on her hips and furrowed her brow at her friend.

Phoebe thought for a moment. "Well, it's a long story Helga. Maybe you should sit down."

Helga cocked an eyebrow, but did as she was told. Arnold sat beside her, also curious as to why they were here.

Mr. Hypno sat on the red couch and folded his arms as Phoebe stood before Helga.

"Helga, I know this is going to sound odd, but I'm afraid the reason for your sudden change in attitude is because you've been hypnotized." She took Helga's hands in her own.

"Hypnotized?" She scrunched her brow together.

Arnold's eyes widened. Had she been hypnotized this whole time to become this amazing person? Was he in love with an image? He shook his head furiously. No, no, he wasn't going to jump to conclusions.

"What do you mean she was hypnotized?" He asked quietly, afraid of the answer. He looked down to avoid eye contact, just incase his assumptions were correct.

Phoebe looked to him, and saw his sudden sadness. "She was hypnotized into being herself. Her whole self."

Arnold's head snapped back up. "Oh." He was relieved this was really her, but still rather confused. "Well... How did this happen exactly?"

Phoebe sighed, still holding Helga's hands. "Well, it turns out Mr. Hypno over there-" She was gesturing to Mr. Hypno with her head.

"Mr. Hypno?" They interrupted in unison. They looked to eachother briefly before looking over at Mr. Hypno still sitting on the couch, sinking slowly into it at the sound of his name. He just wiggled his fingers at them in greeting with a sheepish smile on his face and his eyes narrowed in worry for himself.

"So the shmo over there was that stupid hypno guy that came to tell us all about his boring life as a hypnotist last Monday?" She asked, looking at Phoebe rather than him.

He suddenly got defensive. "Hey! I am not a 'shmo', sweetie!" He said as he stood and rested his hands on his hips.

"And I'm not a sweetie! So I guess now we're even!" She shot back, glaring at him.

"Yes you are." Arnold spoke absentmindedly.

Helga looked at him in surprise. He blinked, realizing he said his thoughts aloud. There was silence for a moment, till Phoebe cleared her throat, bringing everyones' attention back to her.

"Anyway," She spoke as Mr. Hypno threw himself back down onto the couch. "It turns out, Mr. Hypno isn't really a professional hypnotist. He isn't even close to a professional. He posed as one so he could get some extra money."

Helga laughed unexpectedly, and looked back at Mr. Hypno with a smirk. "HA! You are a shmo!"

He simply glared at her in response for a moment, then spoke, "I thought you had been hypnotized into being 'nice'! Where's all _this_ coming from?!" He asked, frustrated as he threw his arms into the air dramatically.

"HEY! She said I was hypnotized into being my_ whole _self! As in the half I've been hiding since I was three was exposed! The other half that I did show for seven years is still a part of me though! And that part is _mean_!" She smirked again.

Arnold couldn't help but to crack a small smile at his love. Phoebe noticed him smiling at her best friend and smiled slightly herself.

"Clearly." Mr. Hypno muttered under his breath, looking down at the floor angrily, his arms crossed across his chest.

Helga was about to shoot something snappy back when Phoebe intentionally spoke up in hopes to put a stop to the fight she was unconsciously trying to ensue. "So anyway, he picked up a book from the library on hypnotism and now he's going to break you of your trance, okay?"

Helga looked at her and smiled. "I knew there had to be reason for my sudden change of heart." She looked to Arnold. "Arnold," She began seriously, he looked at her stern face.

"Yes?" He asked.

She sighed, but looked to him again with the same firm expression. "Once I'm back to normal, I need you to help me. You know, break me of my fears. If anyone can, you can." She smiled softly at him.

Arnold's heart nearly beat out of his chest, but he managed to smile back and nod despite his scarily strong desire to kiss her.

"Great!" She jumped off the bed, forcing Phoebe to break her hold on her hands, trotted over to Arnold's computer chair, and sat down, smiling. "Okay, de-hypnotize away!"

They all looked at her funny. "What?" She asked, wondering if she had a bug on her head or something.

Phoebe spoke, "It's just that you seem to be taking this much better than we would have anticipated."

"Oh come on! How do you want me to act?" She widened her eyes and pouted her lips in mock-sadness. "I've been hypnotized into acting like myself?! Oh criminy! Why _me?!_" She threw her fists in the air, dramatically, then put them over her face and pretended to sob.

Arnold chuckled at her overly-dramatic behavior, Mr. Hypno simply raised an eyebrow, silently wondering how often she did this kind of stuff, and Phoebe smiled slightly, let out a small laugh, and walked over to her.

"Okay Helga, we understand. Just stay sitting and don't move."

Helga looked up from her pretend crying, and smirked. "Sounds easy enough." She sat up straight and put her hands in her lap, a blank look on her face.

Mr. Hypno got up from the couch and pulled the book out of his bag, and commenced flipping through it.

After a minute or so, he shut the book tight and looked over at Helga with a serious face. The same one he had on when he was pretending to be a professional hypnotist last Monday.

"Alrighty then," He spoke as he threw the book unceremoniously on the couch and looked to Arnold and Phoebe, who had kept quiet and were now sitting on his bed. "This requires complete and utter silence. No talking whatsoever unless you want your little friend even more screwed up than she is now."

Helga growled and he looked back at her, a smirk hidden under his serious mask. He walked over to her and took out a watch from his pocket and began swinging it in front of her face.

She huffed, watching it go back and forth. "Seriously? The old clock trick?" Her eyes became wider as she focused soley on the watch. "That only works in... cartoons..." She trailed off, still following the watches movements with her eyes.

"You are getting sleepy, very sleepy." He spoke soothingly. "When I snap my fingers you will fall into a deep sleep."

She didn't respond, simply followed the clocks motions. He snapped his fingers and her eyes closed instantly and her head fell back.

Mr. Hypno smiled, remembering the words in the book. "When I clap my hands, you will return to normal." He clapped them, praying inwardly that it would work. "When I snap my fingers again, you will awaken." He closed his eyes, bracing for impact, and snapped his fingers. Arnold and Phoebe leaned forward in their seats to see if it worked.

Her eyes opened, and she blinked in confusion. "Why the heck am I in Arnold's room?" She looked around and saw Arnold looking at her. "Arnold?!" She jumped out of her chair and started looking for escape, that is until she noticed Phoebe. "Pheebs?!" She looked beside her and noticed Mr. Hypno, her eyes still wide. "Some tall, ugly guy I don't know?!"

Mr. Hypno's eye twitched at the adjectives she chose to use addressing him.

Phoebe walked towards her, cautiously, trying to explain. "Helga, I know everything must seem very confusing right now, but please allow us to explain your situation."

Helga's eye twitched looking at Arnold. She gulped, looking back at Phoebe. "U-Us?" She asked shakily.

Arnold wore a concerned expression and also got up, coming towards her. "Helga..."

She took a step back, her eyes wide in panic. "Arnold..." She shook her head to clear it and replaced it with a scowl. "Will someone kindly explain to me why I'm standing here with my best friend, the loser, and some guy who clearly hasn't taken a shower in at least a month..." She coughed, waving her hand in front of her face to drive off the stench radiating off of the man. "...In said loser's bedroom?" She finished, putting her hands on her hips.

Mr. Hypno huffed in annoyance. "I'll have you know I bathed just yesterday!" He said glaring at her.

She glared back. "Oh yeah? Where? In a toilet?"

"NO!"

"Well, that's a mighty big surprise considering you certainly smell like one." She coughed again, fanning his horrid smell away with her hands. Mr. Hypno growled and turned away from her, resisting the urge to strangle the young child.

She was suddenly surprised, because Arnold grabbed one of her hands and held it tightly in both of his. "Helga, please, let us explain everything that's happened since Monday."

Helga gulped at the sudden contact and nodded weakly.

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(half an hour later)

"I said **WHAT!?**" Helga screechedas she fell back onto Arnold's bed, eyes wide in terror.

Mr. Hypno had announced he was leaving about twenty minutes ago, after Helga called him a "no good loser who needed to go to the library and get a book on all the newest inventions of the twenty-first century... like soap for example." He had just worn a blank expression and announced he really had to go before the temptation to kill her became too much to resist.

"You informed them that you were the anonymous poet that wrote all those love poems Mr. Simmons read during class." Phoebe explained again, unfazed.

Arnold however winced. He had never heard something so loud in his life. It seemed to echo in his head over and over again. He guessed he could probably hear it from a mile away. "Please Helga, I'm too young for a hearing aid."

Helga looked over at him from her side of the bed with wide eyes, she sat up abruptly and shook him. "And I told you all my secrets! I read my poetry to you! CRIMINY!" She let go of him and looked up through the skylight and into the morning sky. "And I confirmed that I... that I..." She gulped again.

"That you love me. Yeah, we've gone through this Helga. We do need to get to school soon. Are you going to be okay?" He asked, growing concerned for his love's welfare.

She looked to him, her eyes wide and scared. "NO! I can't face them, Arnold!" She got off his bed and hugged herself with her arms. She sniffed. "They know too much. They've seen entirely too much. I even told them I was in love with someone." She whirled around to face him, her eyes wide in panic and fright as she stuck her index finger at him. "What if they find out it's y-y-you?!" She withdrew her finger from him and held it close as she began pacing. "Okay, my choices are pretty obvious here. I could either become a hermit and never, _ever_ step foot outside again. Or I could skip town. Change my name. Get a job cleaning dead animals off sidewalks and roads. Live in a cardboard box for a while. Not the most glamorous life... but still better than staying here just to be mocked and ridiculed and jeered at." She stopped pacing and looked pensive for a short moment before looking to Arnold, her hand on her chin thoughtfully. "What do you think of the name Aaron?"

Arnold grew even more concerned at the sight. He walked over to her and gently put his hand on her arm. She looked startled at the contact. Or was it giddy? He wasn't sure. Phoebe just sat on his bed, watching everything that was going on intently as if it was her favorite tv show.

"Helga, you're not skipping town..." His concern suddenly turned to confusion. "Isn't Aaron a boys name?" He asked as he placed his free hand on his hip, unwilling to remove his other hand from her arm.

She grew panicked. "Uh... Yeah, Yeah... I, um, think it can be a girls name too." She smiled nervously, hoping he'd buy it as she thought, _'I can't believe I just asked him that! What if he found out I was actually asking his opinion on that name for our child! Oh! I'm such a basket case! Oh my dear, sweet Arnold... Please, out of all times, be your adorably dense self and **take the bait**!"_

Arnold blinked in utter bewilderment, feeling that wasn't the real reason. He entertained the idea that she was asking his opinion of the name for their first child for a second, before killing it all together. He smiled at her, she wasn't that crazy in love with him was she? He shook his head, still smiling and withdrew his hand. She mentally pouted at the sudden lack of contact, that is until the contact came back full force. He was hugging her.

"Oh Helga, you won't be mocked or ridiculed or jeered at. You were kind, nice, sweet, wonderful, car-..." He stopped himself, realizing he was going a bit too far. He parted from her, feeling a bit awkward, and cleared his throat. "I-I mean, you were_ you_ for a few days and everyone really like you. All the girls accepted you into their circle and all the guys..." He stopped himself. The less she knew the better for him in the long run. "liked you." He finished slowly, hesitantly.

Her brow shot up past her bangs. "They did?!" She asked in a very high-pitched voice.

He nodded, and his smile returned from her modest disbelief. She was too sweet.

She blinked a couple times, still trying to process this new bit of information. They liked her? Was that even possible? Did Arnold just eat his grandma's cooking again? Did Arnold bonk his head on something? She certainly hoped not. But there had to be a reason for his temporary insanity. At least she hoped it was temporary. Her eye twitched in complete perplexity, her mind still trying to come up with possible theories for her beloved's impossibly strange statement. It couldn't be possible that they liked her... Could it?

After a minute or so, Arnold grew worried. She was just standing there wide-eyed, staring off into space. He pulled her over to the couch and gently pushed her down to sit on it. He waved his hand in front of her face. "Helga?" She blinked, and looked to him. She scowled out of instinct and pushed his hand away from her face. "Yeah, yeah, I'm still here, shrimpy!"

Arnold huffed, but not in annoyance or anger, out of slight humor. She did realize he was already aware that she wasn't really that mean and that she loved him, right? He smiled at her.

"Helga, you don't have to hide from me anymore."

She lost her scowl and stared at him, her eyes narrowed in slight sorrow of her actions. She looked down. "Sorry..._ habits_." She groaned the last word out in resentment.

He got up from the couch and lead her to the door "We've all gotta go to school." Helga stopped abruptly at those words. Arnold sighed. "You don't have to hide from them either. They've already seen the real you... and they liked it." He finished softly, like a caress. She looked at him with the same exact look from pre-school, right after her big scene with Harold. There it was again, all the hurt, fear, and dejection. It scared him to see her like that again.

He just stared at her with sad eyes. "I can't help you with this, Helga. I can only support you. I know you can face them. All the hard stuff is done. All that's left is for you to continue being youself. Phoebe and I will be there the whole time." He smiled reassuringly. She smiled sadly.

Phoebe stood, in total awe at the sweet scene. She walked over to Helga and smiled also. "He's correct, Helga. There will be no awkward anything, and no one questioning your actions or motivations for being kinder." Helga smiled at her small friend and nodded.

Arnold's eyes went dewy and dreamy for a moment looking at Helga. Her hair was in her usual pigtails. She had come to his room with her hair in a ponytail, but after she returned to normal, she quickly fixed that. He didn't mind. Her hair and eyes were glistening in the sun coming down from his skylight. Her pink bow fluttering slightly from the slight breeze coming from the air vents. She had a very interesting look about her. It didn't seem like it could work for anyone else. Only her. Her tough yet comically girly outfit and appearance (Despite her hate of girly-girls) paired with her witty and, at times, sharp tongue and raw passion burning inside of her, not to mention her sweetness, selflessness for her loved ones, insanity, and feistiness... it just... worked on her. It made sense. Most would call her an ugly, unibrowed girl, but she really wasn't. She was very pretty in her own way. She was strong yet fragile. She was... Helga. She was just Helga, and he loved her. He really did.

He was the moral one. She was the naughty one. He was the idealist with his head in the clouds. She was the realist with her feet firmly on the ground. He was the problem solver. She was the problem maker. He was the sane one. She was the secretly crazy one. He was the patient one. She was the one who put people in there place when they needed it whether they liked it or not. He was the open one. She was the sneaky one. He was the gentle one. She was the aggressive one. He was the artist. She was the poet. He was the careful one who beat around the bush as to not hurt anyones' feelings. She was the straight forward, blunt one. He was the typical, regular "nice guy" one. She was the insanely passionate one.

Complete opposites in almost everything.

And yet he was in love her.

He was shot out of his reverie by Helga. She was waving her hand in front of his face. "Yoo-hoo!? Football head!? You in there?"

He blushed in embarressment and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yeah... Sorry. Let's go."

She tilted her head as he opened the door, studying him. He dared not to look back at her. She wondered... what exactly happened between them while she was in her hypnotized state.

He was looking at her in the same way she _knew_ she looked at him.

Was he in love with her?

She snorted quietly as they descended the stairs. _'I wish...'_ She thought. Still... it was so _suspiciously _strange.

And she noticed... he was still holding her hand as they made their way to school.

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**A/N: Hey! Sixth Chapter! Sorry it took so long. I had a bit of writer's block for a little while. Hope you enjoyed. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long. **

**Great! Well... Do I even have to say it? I do? Fine...**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on! Ya know ya wanna! =D**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wuzz'up my Brotha's and Sista's! TESTIFY!**

**Well, Here comes Chapter 7! I'm gonna be honest here... I have no clue how long this story is gonna be. It's lookin' like it's going to at least make it to 9 chapters, but I'm not sure. It could actually be shorter, could be longer. We'll just have to wait and see. **

**Also, I would like to thank everyone for the _Wonderful _reviews! Some have been major confidence boosters, some have been short and sweet, and some have been filled with some good ol' constructive criticism that has actually helped a lot. I want to thank all of you for all the support! This is my first story... so I was kinda ansy about it. So you've all really helped. THANK YOU!**

**I hope you enjoy chapter 7 and however many chapters that lye after this one. LOVE!**

**Disclaimer: Alright, BUDDY BOY! Me gettin' mighty sick of yo constant question that me had been needin to ansar for da past 6 chapters! ME REPEAT... AGAIN! ME NO OWNY HEY STINKIN' ARNOLD! Ansar question? Good. No more question better not be in da futore.**

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Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 7**

Helga cleared her throat as the three silently made their way to school. Arnold looked over at her curiously. She gave him a hesitant, and nervous look before pointing at their hands. Arnold looked to where she was pointing and sucked in a sharp breath when he realized he was still holding her hand. He let go reluctantly.

It wasn't that Helga didn't like him holding her hand... it was just... She was Helga G. Pataki for crying out loud! She was the bad girl on campus and he was the little do-gooder. Although she knew that her reputation hadn't exactly proceeded her in her mental absence, she still felt weird and was uncertain of whether or not she could handle showing her affection for him in public.

Arnold let out the breath he had been holding and smiled shyly at her.

"Sorry, Helga... Forcive habit nowadays." He shrugged and looked away, effectively missing her questioning look.

"Uh... Arnold, you never told me how exactly we became close enough to... uh, hold hands and all that." She glanced at him quick before returning her eyes to the sidewalk before them.

Arnold blinked and looked over at her. She remained watching the sidewalk as they went. Phoebe had left to walk with Gerald just a few minutes prior, as they often did now since their best friends were always with eachother, so they were alone. Arnold tilted his head slightly watching her.

"Well... I guess it started when you confirmed you loved me... and then you asked me if I wanted to play hopscotch with you... and then we started talking and soon we were just... kinda, holding hands and hugging a lot. I guess we became friends." He looked away quick and added quietly, "And I'd like to remain your friend."

She looked at him in surprise. He still wanted to be her friend? _Only_ her friend? Or did her want to maybe... be more? She took a quick breath in through her nose and looked at him with as much confidence as she could muster and blurted out exactly what was on her mind.

"Only a friend?" She winced, it sounded much squeakier than she would have liked.

He stopped instantly at her question. She stopped too after a moment and realizing he was no longer at her side. She was only about a foot or two in front of him, but it was still _much_ too far away for her liking.

He sucked in a determined breath and ran back up to her fast and grabbed her hand. He gave her a little half-smile and spoke, "Well, I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that. If you don't mind Helga, I'd like to give you my answer to that question tonight at the boarding house..." His smile widened to a full smile. "Maybe after you have dinner with us?"

She blinked. _'Is this really happening...? To ME?! He's getting awfully friendly here! Does that mean he wants to be more than friends? Does he like me back?! OH MY GOSH! This may be the BEST day of my life! But no...no, no, no! Helga ol' girl, you can't jump to conclusions like that... it may very well end in disappointment and heart-break... OH! But look at that adorable little smile of his! How I love him. OH!'_

Her expression became dreamy and she almost let out one of her swoony sighs... but she stopped herself and shook her head furiously to relieve it of anymore daydreams and fantasies.

Arnold frowned in confused sadness, taking her head shaking the wrong way. He tightened his grip on her hand and looked at her with pleading eyes. "Well, why not? I-I mean, I'm not asking for much... just for you to stay for dinner and later have a little talk." He blinked at her, his eyes narrowed in desperation.

She stopped shaking her head upon hearing the sorrow and slight desperation and disappointment in his voice. She looked at him and shook her head again. "No, no Arnold. I wasn't turning you down I just... had a pesky song stuck in my head that I... uh, wanted to get out. But really, I guess that would be... um, okay." She smiled nervously at him and gave out a small nervous laugh.

He sighed out of relief and kissed her hand. "Good." They started walking again. Arnold had yet to let go of her hand, but Helga didn't care this time. She had departed from reality the moment his lips had touched her hand. She just walked in the direction of school purely out of instinct while Arnold mentally rejoiced that he would finally be able to get his feelings for her out on the table, and because she had yet to make him let go of her hand. He enjoyed touching her almost too much. Her hands were so soft and often warm. He tightened his hold on her hand unconsciously and her eyes, in turn, fell even more half-lidded.

They walked in contented silence the rest of the way, until the school came into sight. Several kids were standing outside the school, just casually hanging out until the school allowed enterance. Helga, realizing the presence of her peers, swiftly slapped herself and let go of Arnold's hand. Arnold looked at her confused, she just looked at him panicky and suddenly increased her pace so he was behind her. He blinked in perplexity at her actions.

All the girls and a select few of the guys perked up at the arrival of Helga. Rhonda was the first to greet her. "Hey Helga. I see we're back to pig-tails for today. Nothin' beats tradition, huh?"

Helga arched one side of her brow at the fashionista's overly friendly greeting. "Uh... I guess so Princess. Heh..." She suddenly noticed all the eyes on her. "What are you lookin' at ya bunch of chuckle heads?!" She scowled for a moment, before suddenly remembering what Phoebe had told her of how she had gotten quite popular.

Everyone raised eyebrows at her, silently wondering if the expiration day on her kindness had expired. "Um... I mean... Hi." She did a quick wave and everyone's faces immediately brightened. Arnold finally caught up to her and stood by her, smiling at her. Helga eyed him warily.

Rhonda smirked. "So..." She started casually as she took a seat on the front steps of the school and crossed her legs. "How's PS118's cutest couple doing today?"

Helga froze and Arnold just smiled at Rhonda, for he was used to her nicknames for them. "We're_ just_ friends, Rhonda." _'For now anyway...' _He added mentally.

Helga was still frozen from her statement. Rhonda repied, still smirking, "Oh Come _on_, Arnold. It's so obvious somethings going on. You've been spending practically every waking moment together for the past few days..." She leaned in real close to Arnold, still smirking. "And don't think those googly-eyes you've been making at her have been lost on me." She whispered.

Helga was still frozen. No one seemed to notice though. Arnold blushed and took a step back from Rhonda, as to get her out of his face, and looked away. Upon looking away, he noticed Helga standing there stiff with her eyes wide. Suddenly Harold came out of the group of boys and started laughing obnoxiously. Something Arnold had also gotten used to these days. Arnold sighed. _'Three, two, one...'_

"He-lga and Arw-nawld sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-S-I-N-G! First comes loooooooooooove, then comes marri-" Before the beefy boy could finish his song, Helga suddenly came out of her state of shock... or horror... or whatever it was and grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and forced him up against a wall, glaring menacingly at him.

"If you **EVER** sing that ridiculous song **AGAIN,** you'll have to start singing it for the fishes because you'll be sleepin' with em'!" She growled lowly. He gulped, his eyes wide in fear of the pig-tailed girl.

Arnold went over to try and calm her down. He put a hand on her shoulder gently, as to not startle her. "Helga, just let Harold go. He was just playing around. _Right_, Harold?" he asked, eyeing him.

Harold nodded furiously. Helga growled one last time before letting him go easily, albeit reluctantly. As soon as she let go of him he threw his arms in the air and began running down the street screaming, "MOMMY!"

Helga just huffed watching him go and then finally realized what she had just done. Her eyes widened and her mouth went agape. She slowly turned around to find all her classmates staring at her. Some in disbelief and some just had blank expressions, like they were still trying to process what had just happened. Helga gulped at all the attention she had brought upon herself and slowly started backing away. Everyones' eyes didn't leave her for a second as she made her way over to the side of the school where a dumpster presided. She slowly made her way to the dumpster and once reaching it, began climbing in, not once taking her own eyes off the stunned faces of her peers. She made it in and slowly closed the dumpster lid.

Arnold had just been watching her actions with interest. Once she had safely gotten into the dumpster, one of the kids asked, "Did that just happen?"

Suddenly an old, silver pick-up truck with large, wooden wings nailed into each side came flying over the top of the school. Maniacal laughter could be heard as it soared through the air, upon taking a closer look, the kids quickly recognized the mad figure in the driver's seat as Curly.

The insane boy laughed crazily as the large, metal beast flew through the air. "I'm flying! I'm FLYING!" He laughed more and with much more energy, as he turned the steering wheel left and right rapidly, even as the truck began coming down. Closer and closer to the pavement until...

CRASH!

The air-bags began popping out, but Curly quickly jumped to the back seat and narrowed his eyes at his large, puffy offender as he began hitting it repeatedly with an empty Yahoo bottle he'd found in the back seat.

Just as he did this, Principal Warts ran out from the side of the school and leaned down, cupping his knees as he hastily attempted to catch his breath. He glanced up and immediately seemed to catch his breath... well, momentarily until it left him again upon seeing the sight before him.

The air-bag finally popped and Curly smiled at his victory and began climbing through the window to the top of the crashed vehicle.

Mr. Warts managed to find his voice long enough to utter, "My brand new truck." and raise a weak finger to point at the scene. His eyes wide in shock and terror.

Once Curly managed to make it to the roof, he reached down to retrieve a megaphone from the back of the silver wreckage. He flipped it on and yelled angrily, "What's up Warts?! Cat got your tongue?!"

Warts eye twitched before they narrowed dangerously at the boy and he folded his arms. "Do you realize you've just destroyed SCHOOL PROPERTY?!"

Curly narrowed his eyes back and yelled through the megaphone, "Do you realize that the money we raised by selling those dreadful tasting breakfast burritos were supposed to be spent on new playground equipment?! NOT A SHINY NEW CAR!"

The man's eyes widened and his arms fell to his sides at being caught.

Curly's eyes narrowed even more. "SEE! Listen to me my fellow students! We have been dooped by the man! THE MAN!" He began cackling maniacally again. The children didn't utter a single word, but Curly either didn't care or couldn't hear that they weren't making any sounds through his own evil laughter.

Warts gulped and slumped his head down as he began to his office in order to lock himself in to escape the crazy child. He walked through the doors and huffed in annoyance at the whole situation.

Curly stopped laughing at the sound of the doors opening. He straightened up quickly and then leaped off the wreckage and began running towards Warts in anger. "Come back here Warts! Take it like a man!" He crashed through the doors and went off to find Warts, all the while running through the halls like a maniac.

The kids just stood there in awe. A kid asked aloud once again, "Did that just happen?"

Arnold took advantage of their distraction as he slunk away towards the dumpster he knew Helga was still hiding in. He peaked in and found Helga sitting there with an annoyed look on her face and a wheezing, although unconscious, Brainy on the other end of the dumpster. He had to raise an eyebrow at the sight. She looked up at the source of light and panicked, grabbing him up and bringing him inside the dumpster with her. She sat back down and he sat beside her, prepared to question her actions when Helga got up again in a huff and slouched over to where Brainy was currently passed out. She picked him up and threw him out of the dumpster and then held her head up high, making a 'humph' sound and began back towards Arnold.

As she sat down, he was about to ask her the first of his many questions, but was cut off by the girl.

"I can't do this, Arnold. I'm too used to being... being..." She dropped her head into her hands and sighed heavily. "A bully." She finished flatly.

Arnold narrowed his eyes in sympathy for his love and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well then, we'll just have to get you used to being yourself." He smiled at her as she looked up at him.

She smiled back, then sighed again, stretching out her limbs in the dark, and luckily empty dumpster. (The garbage man must have taken it prior) "I guess... But it's gonna be hard. I'm so used to being... me." She finished quietly.

"But this isn't you, Helga. I saw the way you were before when you were hypnotized." He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and continued. "You were very kind, but still so witty and aggressive at most times. You were sweet. You were very confident in yourself. Which you really should be now. Confident in yourself. You're an amazing person Helga." He unwisely continued as his voice became dreamy and he gazed adoringly at her. "And you were so intellectual, still are. Funny, quite selfless when you wanted to be, so... so very romantic, I know. And you have such a talent for poetry. It's very beautiful, Helga. Much like your soul."

Helga silently swooned at the tone he was talking to her in. She wasn't looking at him, in fear he'd see she was mentally swooning. It was so interesting how his voice sounded like it was getting closer.

His voice became quieter and softer, almost a whisper as he unknowingly scooted closer and closer to her. "A very beautiful soul, Helga. Please don't ever doubt that."

She suddenly felt his breath near her cheek and she turned her head to look at him questioningly only to have his lips crushed into hers. Her eyes widened at his affectionate gesture, and she soon began blinking several times, still trying to process what was happening. The hand that was on her shoulder soon snaked around her back, bringing her closer. Helga was still in a state of shock, but soon found her own lips responding to his kiss and her own arms go around his neck as her eyes began to close.

Suddenly the lid to the dumpster was opened, allowing the morning sunlight to flood the large garbage container, then a collected gasp was heard.

They separated and looked up.

Helga's entire body went jagged, and Arnold just smiled, feigning innocence even though her knew it wouldn't work.

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**A/N: BOOYAH! Seventh Chapter! Seventh Chapter! Seventh Chapter! OH YEAH! HAHAHAHA! very glad I got this up! But uh oh! Who barged in on their kissy-face-fest? Guess you'll have to wait and see! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *Cough***

**REVIEW PUNY MORTALS OR BE STRUCK DOWN BY MY MIGHTY LIGHTNING BOLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No, seriously, if you love me, REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello Readers,**

**I would like to inform you all that I have just decided that comedy is for do-do brained simpletons and I am going to discontinue any sort of comedic entertainment. The following is an essay by Mr. Iexist on the urinal patterns of the native American sloth...**

**HOLY CRAP! AS IF!!!! Pfft... Sorry, couldn't resist! That was very fun! Also, if you happen to read that aloud, be sure to do it in a sort of monotone-British-accent type voice. It makes it BETTER! =D**

**So anyway, I've had my fun, the following is ACTUALLY the eighth chapter to my epic, heart-stopping, life changing, tear jerking, bladder aching, zit popping, feet masaging, nail biting, hair pulling, baby crying, armpit sniffing, soda drinking, teeth grinding... uh... Where was I going with this? Oh yeah! It's the eighth chapter to "Hypnotizing Helga"... So enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Me thought me drove you away from asking same question! Remember ansar, ME NO OWNY Hey Arnold! Me never own it eider, so just GO!**

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**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 8**

Rhonda smirked. "Just friends, huh?"

Helga's stare was blank as she simply stared at the wall across from her in the dumpster. Arnold looked away and started rubbing his arm nervously.

Stinky, Sid, Nadine, Gerald, Phoebe, and Eugene all had their eyes wide and their jaws dropped. After a second, Phoebe's shock dissolved and was replaced with a soft, knowing smile. She looked over at Gerald's shocked face and stifled her giggles behind her hand. She shook her head and pushed his mouth shut with one finger. He didn't notice, and his eyes were still wide. Phoebe just sighed and looked back to Helga. She was still just sitting there. Her face was void of any sort of emotion.

Nadine simply stared shocked at the sight, but after a moment she stopped and smiled lightly. It reminded her of the caterpillar. How something so ugly and disgusting can and inevitably will transform to something beautiful. She should've seen it coming, and in a way, she really did kinda expect it.

Eugene was gawking widely until a fly slew in. He felt something land on his tongue and he yelped as he spit it out and began stumbling backwards with his eyes closed tight and his hands running repeatedly over his tongue, attempting without success to get the horrid memory of the feeling of tiny legs perched on his innocent tongue off. Sadly, he wasn't paying much attention and bumped backwards into the bike rack, effectively knocking over all the bikes and landing on his back on top of the mess.

Curly came walking outside, looking mighty irritated and mumbling something to himself. The megaphone he now held limp in his hand. He looked up and saw Eugene laying on top of a large pile of bikes that he knew used to be all standing up. He began getting angry again and threw the megaphone at the wall of the school, allowing it to smash to pieces, for one of the bikes the red-headed klutz was now laying on was HIS bike! He bounded towards him, shouting out his battle cry, "AHHHHH-HHHHH-HH-HHHH!".

Eugene noticed this, but thought he was coming to help, so he began attempting to get up and stated weakly, "I'm okay!"

Curly was unfazed and jumped up to body slam Eugene for hurting his baby (The other one that wasn't Rhonda).

Eugene felt a massive weight suddenly crushing him and winced in pain. "I'm okay." Came his muffled reply, for he was now underneath Curly's very peeved form.

Curly glanced beneath himself and Eugene's now crushed body and noticed that some of the black paint on his bike had been scraped off on the concrete due to Eugene's fall. Curly screamed in agony for his bike. "RHONDA JR.! NOOOOOOOOOO!" He began bawling as Eugene struggled to get out from underneath the now hysterical... okay, ALWAYS hysterical Curly.

As all this drama occured several feet behind them, they all ignored it.

Sid dropped to the floor, unconscious and Stinky started pouting.

"Ahhhhhh, Why'd I have to fall for her AGAIN?!" He sniffled, wiping his boogery nose on his sleeve. He turned the other direction, unable to look at them. "This _really_ bites. I'll never love again!" He began crying.

Just then Lila walked by, not too far away. Her auburn hair in it's usual braided pigtails swayed melodiously in the breeze. Her expression pertaining it's usual cheery form as she walked past.

Stinky immediately stopped crying at the sight of her. "Then again..." He started running after her, hoping to get the chance to carry her books.

Rhonda just rolled her eyes at all of them and then continued to smirk at the couple. "So Arnold, Helga, when's the wedding?" She asked in a smug voice while resting her elbows on the side of the dumpster and her head now in her hands as she gazed down at them, still smirking.

Helga's breathing began getting rather shallow, as if she was trying to control herself from doing... something. Arnold hesitantly looked back at her and sighed heavily.

"Rhonda, we'd appreciate it if you could just not... tell anybody about this." He said, in his usual reasoning way, while gesticulating with his right arm.

Rhonda gasped. "But Arnold, don't you realize that this is the BIGGEST gossip of the year?! You can't seriously expect me to just... not tell anyone. How often is it the bully and the bullied are found kissing in a dumpster? And on school grounds no less." She said as she placed her hands on her hips, waiting for a response.

Arnold blew some air out his nose, his own personal way of clearing out his frustration without snapping at anyone. He looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please Rhonda, it would be better if you could just... help us with this. Keep this whole thing under wraps. Please." He stood, looking her straight in the eye.

Rhonda huffed. "OH! Fine. After all, you did help me get through that whole time I was broke. I suppose, it's the least I could do."

Arnold gave a sigh of relief and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Rhonda." He looked down at Helga, who had yet to move. He began getting worried and kneeled down in front of her, putting a hand on her cheek.

"Helga... Are you okay?" He asked in a worried tone accompanied by an overly worried expression.

Helga finally blinked, but still didn't show any emotion as she stood up and faced Rhonda. Arnold stood too, watching her actions curiously.

Helga sucked in a breath and studied the outer surroundings of the dumpster. She saw Sid laying on the ground with his tongue hanging out one side of his open mouth, Eugene struggling to get his bottom half out of the bawling Curly's grasp, Gerald standing there staring at Arnold with wide, questioning eyes, Phoebe watching her worriedly, Stinky off in the distance attempting to persuade 'Little Miss Perfect' to let him carry her books, and finally... Rhonda staring at her with an eyebrow raised.

Helga actually smiled at her, and climbed out, standing by her and putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling. "Thanks a million, Princess. For a moment there I was sure my entire world was about to explode. I was even readying myself to pound you into the dust, but you surprised me." She lifted her hand off her shoulder and began patting her back. "I guess you don't have such a cold heart after all."

Rhonda looked slightly offended, but then remembered who she was talking to. For Helga, this was a compliment. She smiled and nodded. "It's okay. I've got much better things to do with my time. Like shopping." She smiled at the thought, although it came off rather smug looking.

Helga rolled her eyes, as Rhonda began back to the school. Phoebe smiled at Helga knowingly one last time and dragged Gerald along with her to the enterance of the school. Gerald's eyes eventually changed from shocked to blank, as if he knew he should have seen it coming, and just shook his head as he was being pulled away. "Mmmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmmm..." Eugene finally managed to get out of Curly's grasp and started running off to school, tripping repeatedly and shouting quick, panicky "I'm okay!"'s as Curly began running after him, still bawling. Sid remained passed out. Arnold simply blinked at the retreating form of their friends and looked back to Helga. His eyes seemed to light up at her and he smiled, as he held out his hand from inside the over-sized trash can. "Help me out?" He asked.

She took his hand and started pulling him out, rather fast. Helga was pretty strong for a little ten year old girl. She pulled him out, with a speed that caught him so off guard that he practically flew out of the dumpster.

"OOF!" was the first thing out of his mouth. He was a bit confused that his landing didn't hurt as much as he thought. He was laying on... something. Whatever it was, was very warm, soft, and gave him the urge to hug and cuddle it. He opened his eyes only to meet with large, very surprised beautiful blue ones. He didn't move. He really didn't want to.

Normally Helga didn't want him to either, but everything was happening too fast. This was the icing on the cake. She cleared her throat and blinked at him. "Um... Arnold... GET OFF!"

He blinked out of his daze and obeyed, holding out his hand to help her up too. She took it and he gently pulled her up. Once up, she slowly brought her hand out of his, and blinked at him confused. Why had he just been laying on her? His eyes had been boring a hole into hers, with some sort of intesity she had never seen casted in her direction before. And he was still looking at her like that. Not to mention that kiss and the hand holding from earlier. She tilted her head at him curiously.

Arnold had returned to his dazed dreamland the moment her hand touched his. He couldn't seem to control it... which was bad. The kiss was just as much of a surprise to him as much to her. Laying on top of her gave him goose-bumps. Simply touching her made him want more. Seeing her staring at him with those big, beautiful, blue eyes was driving him mad... in a good way.

She finally spoke. "Arnold... What in the heck is WRONG with you?" It wasn't meant as any sort of insult, it was a simple question.

Oooooh... Even her voice was doing it to him. He shook his head and looked back at her. Now thoroughly back to reality. "What do you mean?" He asked nervously.

Helga narrowed her eyes at him. "Football head, you are the most CONFUSING human being in the entire state! Maybe even the world! Heck, after all the strange things you've been doing just this morning, I'd go as far as the say the UNIVERSE! I shudder to think how confusing you're gonna make the rest of the day... And that's just during school! Dinner and "The Talk" is probably gonna make my head explode!" She grabbed him by the shirt collar and held him on his tip toes, touching her nose to his, and her eyes still narrowed in anger and frustration.

"Arnold, you have exactly one minute to explain why you've been acting so weird." She spoke lowly.

Arnold's eyes were very wide. Not just from her words... but she was a bit too close. He couldn't find his voice. And even if he could speak, what was he going to say? He didn't want to tell her his feelings NOW! The atmosphere was ALL wrong! He was entirely too much of a romantic... it had to be perfect. No, no. This would not do. But either way, he still couldn't speak. She was looking at him straight in the eyes... with HER big, gorgeous blue ones! He gulped. He couldn't afford another kiss... not again. That would only make her more confused and angry. But he could feel _and_ smell her hot, intoxicating breath as it escaped through clenched teeth. He began breathing hard... he had to control himself. She shook him.

"Arnold! EXPLAIN NOW! HYPERVENTILATE LATER!" She yelled. Her eyes still narrowed at him in rage, still with that hint of confusion, and a tint of hurt because he wasn't answering.

No, he couldn't hurt her. But he didn't have any excuse. He didn't want to tell her... not now! He shut his eyes tight to prevent himself from looking into hers and gulped finally being able to speak, "H-Helga, I c-can't tell y-you... NOW. I'll tell you tonight, I promise. PLEASE." He opened his eyes... not his smartest move. Her eyes had softened considerably. And her grip on his shirt loosened.

He had been stuttering a lot... but it wasn't from fear. She could tell. He seemed nervous... because of HER?! _'Criminy! He holds my hand, tells me I have a "beautiful" soul, kisses me on the spot, lays on me, looks at me with googly-eyes, and now this! What is up with...' _Her eyes widened in realization. _'Oh my GOSH! I think he LIKES ME LIKES ME! Wow! A lot must've happened while I was hypnotized... into being myself! That means he really does like me for me! Oh this is a dream come true! NO... I still can't go jumping to conclusions. But if my assumptions are correct... Hmmm... I need a test.'_

She smiled athim lovingly, her eyes flirty. She let go of his shirt and patted his cheek sweetly. "I'm sorry about that, Arnold. You know I have a bit of a temper sometimes. I understand... sort of. I guess I'll just have to wait for tonight." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. _'Yeah right... like I'm really gonna wait till TONIGHT.'_

Arnold gulped again and struggled to keep himself under control. "Yeah, w-well... Yeah... Um... right, t-tonight." He nodded weakly.

She smiled at him widely and hugged him, inhaling his shampoo she knew all too well from sneaking up on him and sniffing his hair without his knowledge. "That's right, Arnold. Tonight." She whispered in his ear.

Arnold started breathing hard again. Unwillingly wrapping his arms around her, returning the embrace. "Uh-huh." He closed his eyes and held her tight, inhaling her scent. Vanilla. She smelled like vanilla. Sweet, sweet, wonderful vanilla. This was definitely NOT good.

She smirked at his tight embrace. She was enjoying this too. But she wasn't done messing with him... she still had to confirm her theory. She let go of him and he reluctantly did the same, slowly opening his eyes as she pulled back.

She smiled flirtatiously yet again and leaned down slightly to kiss his cheek. He froze at the kiss. _'Not good. Not good. Not good. **So** not good.' _He thought panicky before his mind completely shut down and his eyes held a lovesick glow to them. He was blushing hard and savoring the feel of her lips on his cheek before she pulled back to see his expression. He looked up at her, smiling goofily. His eyes narrowed in passion.

She blinked at his expression. It was even more intense than before. This was almost hard PROOF he liked her liked her! This new realization made her flirty smile morph into a genuinely ecstatic one. She began giggling giddily. He didn't hear. He felt numb. The only thing he was aware of was that she was happy... but why?

He took her hand and kissed it. She stopped giggling. She was very happy he liked her, and even happier he was kissing her hand, but this was too much. They were just outside the school and were already late as it was. He didn't even seem like he was conscious. She had seen how he acted during some of his harmless little crushes, and they were pretty insane. He quoted love poetry in their names. He daydreamed constantly. His expression always turned slightly dreamy just at the mention of them. But this was ten times worse!

He began kissing up her arm slowly. She panicked, she had to snap him out of it. What if someone saw?! "Arnold..." She tried. No response, he just kept kissing. He was already up to her elbow. "Arnold..." She spoke louder. He hummed a response as he was now up to the middle of her upper arm. "ARNOLD!" She yelled. His eyes popped open wide and he finally realized his actions. He was frozen in place. He looked down where his lips rested on her shoulder and his arms had begun snaking around her. He looked panicky and let go of her immediately, backing away slowly.

"S-Sorry, Helga. I don't know what came over me." He spoke nervously as he began backing away from her. She smirked at him and followed.

"Oh really? I think I know what came over you." She spoke knowingly, with a hint of amusement. He kept backing away.

"NO! You don't understand, Helga! There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for why I... was... k-kissing your arm." He stuttered as he now hit the wall to the dumpster and gulped.

Her smirk broadened as she now had him trapped. "Oh really? And what explanation might that be?" She asked innocently.

His eyes widened. "Uhhhhhhh... Well, I was worried I hurt your arm when I landed on you... so I, um, decided to kiss it to try and make you feel better." He smiled as convincingly as he could.

She rolled her eyes. "My arm is fine, Arnoldo. You had NO reason to think I hurt it. Is that really the best you can do?"

He gulped again and averted his eyes.

Her eyes lit up with an idea and a wicked grin appeared on her face. He didn't see as he was inwardly panicking and looking at anything but her. She took out her pigtails and allowed her hair to naturally fall down her shoulders. She smirked and shook her head, sending her hair flying around her till she stopped and allowed it to fall once again to her shoulders. She took off her bow and waved it in his face. He looked back at her and his eyes widened.

The sun was reflecting off her golden hair, and her expression was wicked evil. He could tell she did it on purpose.

She waved the pink ribbon around his nose, allowing him to smell it. He started breathing hard again as she released the ribbon and allowed him to hold it. He held it as if it was the most precious thing in the world. She smirked once more.

"Out with it, Football Head! You're a horrible lyer. It would probably be best if you just told me now."

He looked up at her from the ribbon, meeting knowing eyes. Her appearance practically blinding him, she was so pretty with her hair down. _'Oh... The heck with it!'_

"Helga, I... I-I-I... Kinda... you know, feel... when I'm... and your around..." He stuttered, annoyed with himself.

Helga smirked again. Just then Sid finally woke up and looked over to where Helga was trapping Arnold against the dumpster. Arnold looked scared. He could remember them kissing... had he fainted? He shook his head and stood. "Hey guys." They looked to him. Helga scowled at his interruption and Arnold just looked nervous and scared as he clutched onto the pink ribbon for dear life. Sid walked over to them and saw Helga's appearance. His own eyes widened and he smiled at her.

"Boy howdy, Helga. You look nice." He nodded appreciatively. She scowled in response and he backed away. "So... Don't you think we should be heading to class?"

Helga huffed. "We'll go to class when we're good and ready. Now shoo!" She said angrily as she began pushing him in the direction of the school's enterance.

He gulped at her angry response and aggressive pushing. Okay, maybe he didn't like her like that. She had been pretty nice before... but this was new... or rather old. Arnold just stood holding the ribbon. He stared at it lovingly and sniffed it happily. He then came to his senses. What was he doing? Was he seriously about to tell her he loved her in front of a dumpster at the side of the school?! What was he thinking?

He shook his head. He was thinking he really didn't want to wait that long to hold her and show her his affection. She seemed really uncomfortable and confused when he had held onto her hand and kissed her and... everything. He was tired of confusing his poor love. He pocketed the ribbon and started off in the direction of the school enterance.

Helga stopped pushing Sid and looked back at Arnold. She growled. Sid ruined EVERYTHING! She had him right where she wanted him. But then again... She smirked. Maybe she wasn't done messing with him. She snickered evily as she had already started concocting some plans for "Operation 'Crushing' Arnold"

She walked over to him and he stopped walking, and looked at her nervously. "Helga, I..."

She shook her head and put a finger on his lips, silencing him. "That's alright, Football Head. We're late enough as it is. Let's just get to class before Mr. Simmons gives us detention."

He nodded and she removed her finger and started towards school. He sighed in relief, and walked through the doors of PS118.

But it _was_ strange, he thought. Helga seldom ever let things go. Why would she let him off the hook when she had him trapped. That didn't make sense.

_'But then again... When did Helga ever make sense?'_ He reasoned, laughing slightly.

But still...

* * *

**A/N: YAY! I totally finished Chapter 8! LOVE ME! Anyway, I've gotta say... If you haven't already started reading NintendoGal55's new story entitled, "RNLD", You've gotta go check it out NOW! She hasn't finished it yet, but so far, it's fantastic! It's a combination of the movie Wall-E and the show Hey Arnold! It's soooooo awesome! Go check it out... and thanks for reading Chapter 8! Chapter 9 will be up soon... and it will definitely be a fun chapter. **

**HEH HEH HEH! Anyway...**

**REVIEW!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Halo me friendly reading peoples... mon,**

***Laugh* Okay, heres Chapter 9 of "Hypnotizing Helga"... But before you commence reading... I would like to present a word I've been using since... about the fourth or fifth grade. I made it up and it's pretty long and really ridiculous. Fair warning...**

**The word is...**

**Laughinsificationalism**

**If your having problems reading or pronouncing that... let me space it out 4 ya...**

**Laugh-ins-if-ic-ation-al-ism**

**I told you it was a really ridiculous word... It just screams ME doesn't it?! XD**

**I don't know why I just told ya'll that... I just felt the need to express my renowned stupidity to you. I kinda feel like I'm in one of those confession circles. **

**Me: _Hi, I'm SuprSingr, and I'm a stupid-word-maker-upper... addict._**

**All of you: _Hi SuprSingr._**

**XD**

**Whatevs, I doubt any of you will ever use that word. I say it constantly. *Shakes Head at self* It means "The action of laughter/The urge to laugh/A rare laughing disease I suffer from on a regular basis" XD Seriously, forget I told you that. And just...**

**Read and Enjoy, fellow addicts!**

**Disclaimer: ME NO OWNY HEY ARNOLD! !**

* * *

**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 9**

Helga stepped into the classroom and all the guys' eyes went dreamy... other than Curly who was glaring at Eugene menacingly, Stinky who was happily sitting next to Lila, and Gerald who was looking pensive with his hand on his chin.

Sid ran to the back of the room and gestured for Helga to join him, his crush not _completely_ gone despite everything.

Helga simply rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. Harold cleared his throat, gesturing to the desk next to him with is head, Park whistled her over to him, and Eugene simply smiled optimistically at her.

She raised one half of her brow at all the attention and small glares from a few of the girls. This was different. Brainy suddenly stood and walked over to her. He smiled and breathed a raspy, "Hi..." Now THIS was odd. Hadn't she left him for the buzzards outside several minutes ago? Well... it WAS Brainy, she reasoned and shook her head. She falsely smiled at him and ushered him into the hall way. She shut the door and socked him good, then walked back in as if nothing had happened.

Arnold appeared from behind her and all the guys groaned. He smiled at her, with a hint of that lovesick glow and went over to his desk. She went to sit at her usual desk right behind him.

Mr. Simmons walked in and looked around the room. He raised an eyebrow. "Now, when I left the room, I could've sworn that there were some empty seats." He looked to Helga and Arnold. "Where you two here?"

Arnold was about to tell Mr. Simmons the truth but Helga interjected.

"Now, Mr. Simmons," She started in a sugary-sweet voice. "Why would we not be here?" She asked innocently, blinking a couple times in pretend sadness, accompanied by some fake tears.

Mr. Simmons' face softened. "Okay, Helga. I guess I can trust you. You are one of my best students." He smiled once more and walked over to his desk.

The class snickered a bit, but luckily Mr. Simmons was too distracted with getting out his lesson plan for the day to notice.

Arnold looked back at her with the same tint of love in his eyes and smiled in thanks. She smirked at him and nodded.

He turned back around and entered his usual dreamland, recalling Helga's scent, her feel, and now her taste. He unconsciously licked his lips.

Helga snickered evilly and pulled out a piece of paper to start writing down her ideas for her latest scheme. It was kinda obvious he liked her, even if it was just a crush, she was going to savor this. "Operation 'Crushing' Arnold" was going to be almost_ sinfully_ fun. She couldn't wait till English class, which was in an hour, when the first step to her evil scheme would be initiated.

* * *

The hour just flew by for the two blondes, with Arnold busy daydreaming of Helga and Helga busy planning out the steps to "Operation 'Crushing' Arnold"

Mr. Simmons smiled at the class, having just announced it being English class, or more specifically... Poetry time.

Helga grinned. If Arnold truely liked her liked her for _her_, then this would get him hook line and sinker. Besides, it wasn't like the class was unaware of her passion for poetry now. They already knew... so the first part to her plan wouldn't matter.

Mr. Simmons smiled once more, despite the disinterested looks from the children... minus Helga and Phoebe.

"Okay, students, would anyone like to read their very special poem aloud to the class?" He asked as he knowingly glanced at Helga.

Helga's hand shot up as expected of the teacher, and he smiled at her raised hand. "Helga, of course. Come on up."

She stood and sauntered over to the front of the class, clutching her poem nervously. She cleared her throat and spoke passionately, instantly captivating everyone... especially Arnold.

"Gorgeous eyes that glow

A soft smile that gleams

The love you want to show

Never spoken, left painfully unseen...

You try to hide

To tuck it away

But you feel you've died

When their lovely eyes look your way...

The sun reflecting off their hair

Their eyes sparkling with curiosity

The way you wish you didn't care

And yet glad that you can see...

Looking deeper into their soul

Wishing desperately they could feel the same

Knowing otherwise feels like laying on hot coals

Your body all aflame...

One day you know you'll finally snap

And scream to the world your love

You'll grab them to you and fill the gap

And feel like a fool or as free as a dove"

She finished and nervously glanced up to Mr. Simmons.

He smiled in awe. "Oh, Helga... Another masterpiece." He cooed as he wiped away tears in his eyes. The overly emotional sap. "Very special, Helga. Isn't that right class?"

The class remained quiet for one painfully long moment, before the clapping started. Phoebe gave her a big thumbs up and all the guys stared at her dreamily. Most of the girls huffed at her, while a few others simply clapped in genuine awe and appreciation. One of the guys in the back even whistled.

Helga smiled warmly at them all and gave a dramatic bow before looking over at her main objective for the day. Arnold. Her heart jumped at what she saw.

He had his head resting in his hand as he gazed at her with adoration. He had a soft, goofy smile spread across his face as his other hand unknowingly rested on the cheek she had kissed earlier. His heart was pounding hard at her words, and he could only feel himself falling deeper under her spell.

Helga went back to her seat and smiled triumphantly. Step 1... Check.

Arnold turned in his seat and stared lovingly at her. "That was really beautiful, Helga." He spoke in a soft whisper.

She smiled flirtatiously and giggled girlishly. "Thanks, Arnold."

Arnold's gaze continued for a little too long and Helga giggled again, gesturing for him to turn back around. He obeyed and started daydreaming again... as usual.

Helga smirked again. Today was going to be _very_ fun. Even if it was just a stupid crush... which she was still squealing about... she was going to have fun with this, because she knew his crushes never lasted long. Thinking of that made her smirk drop along with her eyes. She sighed.

But she was going to savor this, none the less.

* * *

It was recess time, and quite a few guys were following Helga around. She turned and raised half of her eyebrow at them all.

"What do you want?!" She asked, very annoyed by all the attention.

They all blushed at her acknowledgment of their presence.

One brave little third grader came forward, he had soft, brown, messy hair hidden beneath a red baseball hat, and wearing a simple blue t-shirt, to match his eyes, along with some maroon, floral shorts. A cute kid. He took off his hat, shyly and took her hand, to shake it.

"Hi, I'm Vince. I was just wondering if you'd want to come get a smoothie with me after school. So... Would you?" He asked smally.

She raised one half of her brow, but then her eyes lit up in revelation. This kid had some sort of crush on her. How cute...

She was about to let him down gently... but then noticed Arnold watching the exchange. She smirked and looked back to the kid. She had planned on fulfilling step two of her plan with Sid or something... but this kid was much cuter. Perfect chance to commence part two to her evil plan.

"I'm ever so sorry, Vince, but I'm afraid I have plans after school."

His eyes turned down-cast and she noticed Arnold smile in the distance.

"But..." She continued.

The boy's eyes lit back up in hope and Arnold blinked, losing his smile.

"Maybe we could go out tomorrow... if you're still up for it." She smiled in false flirtation.

The boy smiled widely and nodded furiously. Arnold furrowed his eyes at this, wondering what she was up to. She was in love with him... wasn't she? He shook his head. Of course she was... but what if she doesn't think he likes her back... what if she's already trying to move on?! He sucked in a sharp breath and watched with wide, paranoid eyes.

Helga saw this and smiled at the young boy, and said in a voice loud enough for Arnold to hear, "You know, I do kinda have this STUPID crush on another guy, but I doubt he likes me the way I like him. So I'll give you a shot. You're really just ever so cute. I think I could learn to like you even more than that other guy!"

He perked up at the compliment and Arnold's jaw dropped.

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He actually fainted and Helga giggled. The other guys around them huffed angrily and stalked off. Arnold on the other hand was practically shaking in jealousy. This was not boding well... NOT AT ALL!

He began stomping over to them but stopped abruptly as Helga knelt down to try and help him up. The boy managed to get up and smiled at Helga with dreamy eyes. Her hair was still down, and she seemed to glow, and her eyes were sparkling in amusement. Arnold nearly lost himself in the sight, before realizing it was all casted in that _stupid_ third grader's direction.

He snarled and stomped his foot. Just then, Gerald walked over to Arnold and took his shoulders in his hands. Arnold looked at him in irritation. He really needed to get over there and set that kid straight. Gerald noticed the anger in his eyes and raised an eyebrow. He saw Arnold glance at something so he followed his eyes and came to see a little third grader holding Helga's hand and talking about something. Helga was smiling, although her eyes portrayed boredom. Arnold didn't seem to notice her lack of interest and glared menacingly at he boy.

Gerald sighed. "Arnold, I think it's pretty clear you've got something goin' on with Helga."

That did it. His eyes snapped back to his, startled by his remark. He blinked a couple times and shrugged Gerald's hands off his shoulders.

Arnold looked back to the boy and Helga as immense jealousy flashed across his face. He huffed.

"I don't know _what_ you mean, _Gerald_. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go explain to that _**kid**_ that Helga is NOT interested in him and then tell Helga that she is NOT interested in him." He began towards them, but Gerald stopped him by grabbing his arm. He growled briefly before turning around.

Gerald raised an eyebrow at him, his eyes clearly expressing that "oh-please" look as they were half-lidded. Arnold sighed heavily before gesturing him to the swings not too far away. Gerald shrugged and went over to take a seat. Arnold followed.

Once they were both sitting on the swings, Gerald looked to Arnold. "Well...?"

Arnold looked up to him and sighed again. "I'm in love with her." He stated bluntly.

Gerald nearly choked on NOTHING from his proclamation. He was in love.....? With HELGA?! Okay, this was undoubtedly a "Say what?!" moment.

"Say what?!" Gerald yelled.

Arnold panicked at his outburst and shushed him harshly. "Keep it down, Gerald! I don't want everyone to know just yet. But... yeah, I'm in love with her, okay? That's why I kissed her in the dumpster, and why I was spending so much time with her before, it was because I was trying to sort out my feelings for her. You know Deep Voice? Yeah, that was Helga. When I found out, I demanded for her to tell me why she did it... and she sorta told me it was because she... was... in love with me. So I was hanging with her alot trying to figure out if I felt the same... because honestly, I didn't have a clue. I had never really thought of her like that. But the more I started getting to know her, the more I began to genuinely like her. I mean, I always cared deeply for her... even when she was being mean to me. But I don't think I loved her... or at least knew I loved her. But I know now... I really do love her, Gerald. She's so passionate about everything, she's very kind when she wants to be, her smile always makes me smile, her simple laugh gives me joy, her sense of adventure is astounding. The way her golden hair dances in the breeze and how the sun makes it shine. How her eyes are always sparkling... whether it's in happiness or mischief, and how they're like the bluest blue I've ever seen. How beautiful her poetry is. She's so... amazing." He ended dreamily as he stared off at Helga, failing to notice the much shorter child still chatting it up with her.

Gerald sat gawking at Arnold. Okay, maybe he did love her. But..... WOA! He had seen how Arnold acted when he was crushing on someone. But it was usually because of how "pretty" they were. Indeed, he had expressed his physical attraction to Helga... but he had also listed off some of her personality traits he adored. This was kinda new. He could tell he genuinely DID love her... but still. HELGA?! HELGA G. PATAKI?! Yes, he knew Helga had been acting much more tolerable lately... but she was still so... Helga-ish and Arnold was so... Arnold-ish. And what was this about Helga being Deep Voice?! Was it even possible for Helga to do something THAT selfless?! She always seemed more like a.... "Every Helga for Herself!" type person. And she LOVED HIM?! That was very, very, VERY new! Okay, so maybe he did kinda suspect it. But he was afraid to say anything because he knew Arnold was very dense and would just wave it off and tell him he was insane. So maybe that wasn't SUCH a surprise. But he didn't want to dwell on that right now. Right now he was dealing with an extremely lovesick Arnold, and he had to do something.

Arnold sat there with his head resting in his hands, staring at Helga adoringly. The lovesick glow practically radiating off of him. It made Gerald want to go hug a thousand kitty cats, and barf up his breakfast both at the same time. It was a weird feeling. Arnold didn't seem like he had much control over himself in this state. He wasn't even acknowledging the world around him at all, so much so that when a baseball came flying over head from Sid who had just whacked it with his bat, Arnold didn't even see it as it plowed down onto his oblong head... effectively knocking him off the swing and onto the ground.

Gerald gasped and quickly knelt down beside him. "Arnold! Arnold, buddy! Are you alright?!"

Arnold simply groaned in response. "What hit me?"

Gerald couldn't resist. "Cupid's arrow, man. Cupid's arrow." He snickered slightly and Arnold opened his eyes slightly to glare at him, before shutting them again in pain.

Helga came rushing over to his aid, a bit panicky. She knelt down and touched his head lightly. "Arnold! Are you okay?!"

Arnold opened his eyes again and muttered absent-mindedly. "I am now, Angel." His eyes were dreamy as he stared up at her.

Helga's eyes widened at his comment and she blushed profusely. "Oh... Arnold, I'm far from an angel! Now sit up." She said, still blushing as she helped him sit up. He was still looking at her with a goofy smile, as her arms were around him, helping him to sit up. Gerald noticed that he was still in his lovesick daze and panicked for his friend. It was kinda obvious he didn't want Helga to know just yet. So he inconspicuously pinched Arnold's arm, which made him yelp at the unexpected pain.

Arnold blinked a few times, now out of his daze, noticing Helga's arms around him. He smiled knowing that this meant she was away from that other _stupid_boy. He looked up at Helga as he struggled to stand up. "Thanks for the help, Helga. It was very sweet of you."

Helga panicked, his eyes were starting to get that glow to them again. She had to get out of here before he started kissing up her arm again or something. Plus she wasn't finished with part two of her evil scheme yet.

"Uh... yeah, sure, Arnold. No problem. I'll just be going then." She started walking away, rather hastily too.

Arnold grabbed her hand and pulled her back over to him. "No, Helga... Why don't you just stay here and hang with us?" He smiled nervously. He didn't want her going back to that other kid. He had to keep her away from any other interested boys until tonight when she'd be his.

She gulped at his contact. He looked nervous... well, it was better than that glow. But she liked that glow. It made her heart flutter and all her senses practically burst in happiness. Her main objective for the day was to get him to snap and tell her he like her liked her BEFORE tonight... but this was too public. Plus, she wasn't done messing with him. The day was hardly over and she really was enjoying all the attention... but what if he snapped again and started kissing her?!

She gulped again, looking at him. "Well... I don't know, Football Head. I really should be getting back to Vince." She waved to the younger boy and he happily waved back.

Arnold saw this exchange and felt jealousy bubbling up inside him. "OH! Come on, Helga! Honestly?! A stinking THIRD GRADER?! PUH-lease! I have shirts older than him! Are you honestly considering having THAT-" He gestured toward the boy. "-as your boyfriend?! REALLY?!" He let go of her hand and crossed his arms, his hands balled up in fists of fury and his eyes burning with jealousy, a scowl evident on his normally calm face.

Helga had to take a step back in shock at his outburst. She had never seen him act like this before. She had expected him to look at her and the boy and simply sigh heavily then walk off in mild irritation. That was how he had acted when Lila showed interest in Arnie. But this... was new. Part two of her plan was to make him as jealous as humanly possible... so maybe part two was over.

Gerald's eyes were wide at his normally calm and collected friend's obvious jealousy. Okay... there was no doubt in his mind now that he loved Helga.

Just then, Sid walked over with apologetic eyes. "Hey there Arnold, sorry about the ball and it landing on your-"

Arnold turned and glared at Sid with hatred. He knew he was an interested boy. He DIDN'T LIKE interested boys being around Helga. He growled at him, cutting him off. "Sid... leave." He spoke lowly, his eyes in slits.

Sid backed up in surprise, glancing at Helga for help, but she seemed just as shocked as him. He looked to Gerald but he seemed to be thinking something over. So he simply obeyed, as he walked away hastily, remembering Arnold's karate skills.

Arnold huffed at the retreating boy and returned his attention to his slightly taller love.

Helga growled back. This was stupid. She was HELGA G. PATAKI! He was Arnold! She was the bully! Not him! She scowled a very familiar scowl and crouched down so she was right in his face. "_Arnold, I'm going to go back to Vince now, and you are going to shut up_." She commanded.

He blew some steam out of his nose and scowled back, backing away from her, waving his arms around. "FINE! Go off and talk to that stupid kid with the smelly hair! See if I care!" He stomped off in the other direction, but Gerald wouldn't have it. He stood in his way and gestured to the very peeved form of Helga stalking back off to the young, anxious boy. Arnold looked and his scowl disappeared and his arms fell to his sides, he could feel his heart sink as Helga was now sitting with the younger boy, holding hands, as he attempted flirting with her.

Arnold groaned in agony and started backing up until he fell back onto the seat of the swing, grasping the chains as he mentally cursed himself. Was this how Helga had felt all those times in the past? It certainly made sense... and it didn't feel too good. He shook his head, and Gerald smiled sympathetically at his shorter friend.

He sat down next to him once again and patted his friend on the back. "Man, Arnold, you weren't kidding when you said you loved her."

Arnold laughed hollowly as he looked up at Helga. She still seemed angry, but more at the younger boy now. But of course the child didn't notice and continued on with whatever he was telling her about. Gerald spoke again.

"I think you need to learn to control yourself when you're around her, because your self control isn't the best, buddy. If I hadn't pinched you back there, you probably would have kissed her again or something. And I know you don't want her to know just yet... but if not now, then when?"

Arnold looked to Gerald. "I just need to control myself till tonight. I invited her over and I was going to tell her then... but I think she already knows. But still, I want it to be special. I know it's probably going to be a dream come true for her." He smiled at the thought.

Gerald rolled his eyes, but he was smiling none the less. "Whatever, man. Tonight it is. I'll be by your side 24/7 up until the big event. You won't snap while I'm around." He smiled reassuringly, and Arnold returned his smile.

"Thanks, Gerald. I could use the help. It's just like... everytime I see her or touch her or she just... does something to purposely make me go ga-ga... I... just kinda... can't help but really want to hold her close... and maybe even... kiss her." He looked around nervously, his entire expression clearly displaying his discomfort.

Gerald smiled at his honesty... although he still had the urge to gag at all his gushy-ushy lovey-dovey talk. He stuck his tongue out in distaste, but Arnold didn't notice as he was looking at the ground. Gerald patted his back again reassuringly.

"Don't worry, man. I've got your back."

Arnold smiled one last time before looking to Helga in awe and adoration.

"OW!" Arnold rubbed his head and glared at Gerald.

He shrugged. "I told you man, I've got your back. It becomes dangerous when you look at Helga like that." He smiled innocently.

Arnold huffed and searched for an alternative. He ended up looking at the clouds. Although the blue sky slightly resembled Helga's eyes. This made his gaze become lovesick and dreamy again.

Gerald whacked him again.

"OW!"

This was going to be a _LONG _day...

Little did he know that Helga was thinking the same thing as Vince went on and on about his stale pizza collection.

**

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**

A/N: Holy CRAP! I can't believe I finished this chapter so quickly! ~I'm so excited!~ *Wiggles fingers* ~And I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!~ OH YEAH!

XD

Anyway... Helga's poem in here is actually by me... sorry if you don't like it. I'm a singer so naturally I've written songs before, and poems aren't MUCH different from songs. So hopefully it came out okay.

So please, tell me what you thought of this chapter, or in other words, or rather 'word'...

REVIEW!!!!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey dar'!**

**Ha-yuck! XD Anyway... please don't hate me... but I'm gonna warn you now that this story is gonna be getting a little hectic. *Smiles nervously* I decided it needed more suspense... so I came up with a new little twist that I think will be interesting. =D**

**So... Just read. =D**

**Disclaimer: NO OWN HEY ARNOLD! BOO HOO! BOO HOO!**

**

* * *

****Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 10**

Arnold had just had to go back outside to the playground to get his books, and was now making his way back to class through the halls. He walked past Principal Warts' office, but stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned around to make sure his peripheral vision had seen correctly.

"Mr. Hypno?"

He looked up at the football headed boy from his lap, as he was sitting in a chair outside of the Principal's office, his eyes grew angry. "Oh _no_! My name is _Mr. Mantle_! I'm not a_ real_ hypnotist, you know." He spat coldly at the boy.

Arnold's eyes grew a bit wide and he backed up a little. "Well, yeah. But I thought you preferred for us to call you Mr. Hypno."

He scoffed. "_Oh_, I did. But then again... I was a fool to think I could trust you and your little friends. Who ratted me out anyway?! It was that ugly little unibrowed girl **WASN'T** it?!" He lifted himself up a bit with his hands on the armrests of the chair he resided, leaning in towards the boys face angrily.

Arnold suddenly got defensive, he narrowed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. "HEY! She's not ugly!" His gaze turned confused. "Wait, ratted you out? What are you talking about?"

Mr. Mantle studied him a moment. He sincerely didn't know what he meant. This just made him angrier. "I knew it! It was that stupid little girl!" He growled.

Arnold glared at him. "She's NOT stupid."

Mr. Mantle was about to reply, when the door opened and out walked Principal Warts. He had his arms crossed and his face was stern. "Mr. Mantle. Please come in now."

Mr. Mantle gulped and slunk into his office. Mr. Warts turned to Arnold and pointed down the hall. "Off to class, young man."

Arnold nodded and began back down the hall to class, wondering what was going on.

Mr. Mantle sat in the seat in front of Principal Warts' desk, awaiting his doom as he thought back to when this whole thing got started.

***Flashback***

_Mr. Mantle had gone back to bed the moment he got home... or rather, he went back to his couch._

_He stirred. _

_Ring Ring Ring_

_He groaned and rolled over. No windows. Too dark to see the time on his old wall clock. And much too lazy to actually answer the phone. But he knew if he didn't they'd just keep calling. This had been going on for hours! Call after call after call! Whatever it was they were calling about, it must have been important. _

_Ring Ring Ring_

_"UGH!" He rolled off of his hard, bumpy couch and onto the floor, groaning. He lifted his hand up to grab the phone off the hook. His head was laying face down on the cold, dirty cement known as the floor as he put the phone to his head, not even lifting his head in the slightest._

_"Talk." He said, begrudgingly into the floor._

_"Yes, Hello. Is Mr. Mantle there?" Spoke a strict sounding man's voice._

_"This is he."_

_"Hello, Mr. Mantle, this is Principal Warts of PS118. I've called to inform you that we know all about your shenanigans."_

_His head flew up and his eyes went wide. His breath was caught in his throat. He gulped. "Uh... What shenanigans?" He asked innocently, feigning confusion._

_"Now Mr. Mantle, we are perfectly aware of your games. We know you're not a real hypnotist. I've called to inform you that we are fully prepared to take legal action in this matter. It's illegal to impersonate a professional hypnotist and to just PLAY AROUND with something as dangerous as hypnotism. And to simply waltz in and perform it on an innocent little girl when you don't even know how to do it... well, we have all rights to sue you. I want you in my office at the stroke of 10:00, and I mean today, Mr. Mantle. PS118 doesn't allow scam artists."_

_His eyes were wide and panicky. "Now, Principal Warts, you don't honestly believe I would just come to your school and talk about my life as a hypnotist if I wasn't a hypnotist, would you? And all for just a couple of wrinkly little pieces of green paper?" He laughed nervously._

_"Nice try, Mr. Mantle. Be here at 10:00 am. My office. And don't try to run away from this because we know where you live and we have the police already prepared to take action if you try to flee. My Office. 10:00 am." The phone went dead._

_Mr. Mantle's eyes were wide in disbelief and his jaw was on the ground. What the HECK just happened?! Did he just get caught?! This was definitely a first._

_He sat up. Still trying to comprehend what had just happened. He shook his head in disbelief. How could they possibly have found out he was a fake? Some would have had to have told him. He slowly placed the phone back on the receiver. He sat there for a little while, trying to understand what had happened... Once he had, his eyes narrowed dangerously, a scowl apparent on his face. He stood fast and flipped the light switch on to see what the time was. _

_9:25 am_

_He growled. It was probably that little blonde girl. She was probably trying to take revenge for hypnotizing her or something! She just put him in some MAJOR trouble! IT WAS HER! IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN. He thought a moment. He supposed it also could have been that football headed boy. What was his name...? Arnie... Alfred... Alex... No... It was something with an A. Like it mattered to him. All he knew was that one of those little brats ratted him out. It had to have been one of them! No one else knew he was a fake but that black boy with the tall hair, that little Asian girl, the football headed boy, and that horribly rude little pigtailed girl who said he smelled like a toilet!_

_He growled again. He was on the verge of losing everything he owned... everything he knew... all because of ONE or maybe even more of those STUPID LITTLE BRATS! He kicked his mini fridge angrily, but it didn't budge. Instead he ended up yowling in pain and rubbing his foot. _

_They had better hope everything turns out okay... Because if it didn't and he lost his home.... They were gonna pay..._

***Flashback***

Mr. Mantle started shaking in both anger and fear despite himself.

He knew this was going to end up bad for him.

Really bad.

* * *

It was lunch time now, and so far Arnold had successfully managed to control himself around Helga during class.

She had thrown a few flirty, sweet notes at him during class... that made him really want to leap over to her and start kissing her passionately, and he nearly did, but Gerald whacked him in the head, effectively making him yelp and attracting the entire class' attention to him. It was so embarrassing. But not nearly as embarrassing as it could have been.

Currently though, he was sitting alone at his and Gerald's usual table. He had packed his lunch, so he didn't have to wait in line with Gerald and everyone.

A hand suddenly came crashing down on the table and he looked up quick, startled, coming face to face with a smirking Helga. He gulped.

She smiled flirtatiously at him. "Hey Arnold, mind if I sit here?" She asked as she batted her eyelashes at him.

He stared at her, his eyes wide. His sandwich fell from his hands in effect, scared of what he might do.

She giggled at his stunned expression and sat down next to him. "I'll take that as an 'Okay'." She said quietly as she scooted her chair closer to him.

He gulped again and scooted his chair a bit further away from her... she was too close.

She smirked and scooted herself closer again, grabbing his arm and pulling herself to him.

He could smell her. Not good. His eye twitched and he struggled to get out of her grasp, although he didn't want to... he knew he REALLY had to. She was entirely TOO close to him.

He gave up after a moment of struggle, concluding that she was too strong. He started breathing a little harder and looking up desperately, in hopes of having Gerald come to his rescue.

No such luck, Gerald was still way in the back of the line. Oh _man..._

She snuggled close, holding his arm tight, but then she stood up abruptly, and began pulling him to the cafeteria exit. His eyes widened and he shook his head furiously.

She smirked at him. She could easily force him out of here. She continued pulling. "Oh, Arnold, come on. I _really_ need to talk to you about something in _private_." She smiled at him, evilly.

He looked around desperately for some kind of escape... but it was too late. He was now in the hallway, out of the lunchroom, and away from Gerald with Helga pulling him farther and farther away from his only hope of rescue. This was very bad.

He gulped again. "Helga, I really think we should be getting back to the lunchroom now, don't you?" He smiled nervously.

She shook her head. "No... that's okay. I'm not really hungry." She smirked at him.

He started breathing hard again as she stopped, finally satisfied with the amount of space she had put between him and their peers. She smiled flirtatiously and pulled him into a hug.

"I just wanted to say I was..." Ugh, she had to say it to complete part four of her evil plan, but it was still _so_hard. "...s-sor-...s-s-sorr-...Soooorrrrry..." She let out a breath, relieved she had managed to get it out. "For... well, I was kinda harsh... so..." She struggled again. "s-s-sorr-... Um... You get it." She pulled back from the hug only slightly, as to nuzzle her cheek with his.

Arnold's eyes grew wide at this. NOT GOOD!

His mind was starting to melt, and he was getting ready to pounce on her when something grabbed him by the back of the collar and pulled him back. He was irritated by this, and struggled to get out of the person's grasp.

"No, Helga. You're just going to have to wait till tonight. Arnold has a lot more self control than you give him credit for." Gerald spoke confidently, frowning at Helga.

Arnold groaned and continued trying to get free. "NO! She's right! I have NO self control! Helga, I'm in-"

Gerald quickly slapped his hand over Arnold mouth as Arnold groaned angrily into his hand. Gerald smiled nervously at Helga. "He's just been eating too much cafeteria food is all. It turns the mind to mush."

Helga huffed, folding her arms. "He packed his lunch, Geraldo!" She said, frowning, unconvinced.

Gerald frowned back. "Yeah, welll..." He held fast to Arnold's collar and bounded down the hall as fast as he could, dragging a very peeved Arnold along with him. "BYE!"

Helga scoffed. "Moron." She murmured as she trudged her way back to the cafeteria. Well, the point of part four was to apologize. She had added that one in shortly after their little fight. And... she had apologized... but he didn't. She frowned.

Gerald sat Arnold back down in his seat and claimed the seat right next to him. "There you go, man. I told you I had your back." He smiled at his friend and took a swig of his chocolate milk to celebrate. He looked back to Arnold and his smile faded to a frown at what he saw.

He was sitting there, glaring at him! UGH!

"What?" He asked as he sat his milk back down on the table.

Arnold crossed his arms. "I wanted to tell her." He pouted, frowning at his sandwich.

Gerald smiled. Oh, so THAT was his problem. "Hey, Arnold?"

Arnold looked to him, still frowning.

"OW!"

Arnold rubbed his cheek tenderly. "What was that for?!" He asked frowning immensely.

Gerald shrugged and took a bite of his own sandwich. "You were in your 'I wanna tell her so I can play kissy face' mood." He shrugged again. "I had to snap you out of it somehow. Slapping you seemed like the best way to go." He grinned.

Arnold blew some air out his nose in mild annoyance. He was grateful Gerald was helping him like this... But that still HURT!

He sighed. "Thanks, Gerald." He smiled weakly and went back to eating his sandwich.

His mind wandered. He had started thinking of Helga at first... but remembering Gerald next to him he decided to try and think of something else. Hmmmm... It was kind of odd how Mr. Hyp-... Mantle had been yelling and scowling at him earlier. He seemed so friendly before... but then again, the man's entire method of attaining money was to convince people that he was a professional, get hired, and then go on doing something he didn't even really know how to do, and all just to get a few bucks. The man was a scam artist. He lied for a living. So maybe it wasn't that weird that he'd suddenly turned on him... he kept saying that Helga had ratted him out. But about what? Being a scam artist? That could be it. But when did Helga find the time to tell on him? She had been hanging around him all day... smelling nice and all that. He sighed happily at the thought.

"OW!"

Gerald snickered. "Sorry. You had the look again." He took another bite of his sandwich, completely disregarding his best friend now, who was currently rubbing the back of his head, glaring at him.

* * *

Mr. Mantle burst through the door, yelling angrily at the principal. "Just take the old dump! It's all yours! It'll save you alot of money and me alot of time! Besides... I DON'T EVEN OWN A SUIT THAT I COULD WEAR TO COURT!" He slammed the door shut, screaming angrily into the halls. His loud yells and screams echoed throughout the halls as he stomped his way out of the school.

This was ALL that stupid pig-tailed girls fault! HOW COULD SHE RAT HIM OUT LIKE THAT?! AND AFTER HE SO GRACIOUSLY GOT UP AT LIKE... 6:00 IN THE MORNING JUST TO GET HER STUPID HEAD BACK TO IT'S OLD SCREWED UP CONDITION!

He screamed again in aggravation. He had just handed over everything he owned! Why? Because he knew even if he did go to court and go through all that legal crap it would have just had the same outcome! So why not just hand it all over?! It made PERFECT sense to him!

He kicked the doors open angrily and stomped his way out of the school. Where to now?

His anger evolved to sadness. He had no where to go. No home. No money. No life. He sighed again.

There was only one place to go when you were as bad off as this...

* * *

Mr. Mantle turned the corner. He had been walking for at least an hour now. He was tired. He felt stupid. He felt alone. But he had to get there. He had no where else to go.

He walked deeper into the alley, looking around for some sort of door, or window, or... something.

Suddenly a hand grabbed his ankle.

"Oof!"

What happened? He looked around. Was he here? Had he reached his destination? It was very dark.

A light switched on, illuminating the face of a single man. His face was scruffy as he had a long brown beard. He looked like he had never shaved a day in his life, and he wore an old gray beanie over top of his fuzzy head. His eyes were a cold gray that were looking at him seriously. He had his scruffy, dirty looking arms folded across his chest that was covered by a dark green sweater, with holes in it here and there, and underneath he wore an extra large, white, baggy t-shirt that went pretty low, almost to his knees. He had on some ripped up old blue jeans and to finish the look... bare feet.

Mr. Mantle smiled up at him, feeling embarrassed. He looked up, past the man's face and came to notice a door in the ceiling. It was open, but that was quickly corrected as it was thrown closed harshly. He couldn't see by who. The entire room was pitch black, other than the single light illuminating the dirty man's face before him.

He stood and dusted himself off, then extended his hand. "Hello, I'm Mr. Mantle." He smiled slightly.

The man looked at him uncertainly, but slowly unfolded his arms and took his hand. "Max. Just Max."

He nodded and shook the man's hand firmly. "I heard this is where to go when you have nowhere else to." He looked around him, although it was still dark so there wasn't much to look at, and then looked back to the man.

Max nodded. "You heard right. So... what happened to you? How'd you end up here?"

Mr. Mantle frowned. "Long story... but I'd be happy to explain if you could please switch on the rest of the lights." He said, as he gestured at the darkened room.

Max looked at him, bewildered. "Lights? They are on."

Mr. Mantle stiffened a bit at that. "You can't be serious. How do you move around without crashing into others."

"Oh!" Max nodded in understanding. "I getcha. Fire her up Willy!" He called into the dark room.

All of a sudden the light that was illuminating him was cast in a different direction. It reflected off one mirror and onto another and another and so on, until the entire room was lit up... it was very shadowy... but you could see none the less. He looked around and was a bit taken aback by how many of them there were.

There had to have been at least eighty of them. It was a large room, so it wasn't crowded... but there were still so many. It saddened him to see so many homeless people. What had society come to?

He sighed.

And now he was one of them.

* * *

**A/N: I said I wanted to add more suspense, and that's exactly what I'm going to do! *Salutes* *Trumpets are heard playing the national anthem in the backround***

**XD**

**So... this is going to be getting really interesting. Keep reading! I'm not finished yet! Far from it, my friends! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *Cough***

**Tell me what you think of this new twist and/or chapter by...**

**REVIEWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hoooooooolllllllloooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**So... I know this is where I'm SUPPOSED to say something really retarded... but I'm kinda tired. *Yawn* I'll pick up on the idiocy at the end of this chapter. Just continue reading. **

**Rest assured, the twist WILL be getting... twistier. OH! That was pretty retarded! Maybe I can do this. *Beams proudly***

**Yup... retarded... Uh.......... No, I lost it. *Sigh***

**Just read.**

**Disclaimer: Too tired for this... I don't own Hey Arnold! Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay?!?!?!?!?!**

**

* * *

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**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 11**

"Wow! So you're like... a scam artist who got ratted out by some little girl with pigtails?" Said Max as he sat on the clumpy old couch.

Mr. Mantle nodded gravely, while sitting next to him.

Another homeless man came forward. He had messy black hair and slight stubble. He wore some black, stretchy pants along with a simple white, but tattered jacket, along with an old black belt tied around his waist. The belt was one of those martial arts belts, he noticed. He wore some old worn out, white sneakers that had dirt all over them. He spoke. "Okay then. So you're here because you're a lying little dirt bag." The man looked him up and down, then smiled at him, extending his hairy and quite dirty looking arm. "Nice to meet you, I'm Fred."

Mr. Mantle looked to his hand uncertainly. The guy had just called him a lying dirt bag! Was that supposed to be some sort of compliment?! He glanced up at the young man's face, his eyes slightly narrowed. "NO! I'm here because I got ratted out by a dirty, stinkin' little BRAT! Why are you here, _Fred?_" He asked at he folded his arms and looked at the man, his eyes in small slits.

Fred smiled at him slightly, but it soon faded once he thought to how he had gotten here. Living his life as a homeless man with no real life. He sighed and sat down on the dirty wood flooring before him and began his tale. "Well, I grew up without my parents." He looked down, his face expressionless. "They died when I was a toddler and I was taken to an orphanage. The grown-ups there were very cruel to us kids. There were times I wished I was just an orphan on the street, so I wouldn't have to deal with their cruel behavior towards me and the others. And they had a rule that as soon as you hit eighteen, you were out. They didn't care if you starved to death or if you were unable to get a job... They just wanted you out as soon as possible. That was something I had never concerned myself with. I was so sure that some nice family would come and take me home... and I'd have a family... But," He sighed greatly, his eyes getting misty.

"No one ever even looked at me twice. I didn't understand it. But finally, at age fifteen, I realized that it was becoming very possible that I would never be adopted. I had to do something. I was okay in school, but nothing ever interested me at all. I wanted a career I would enjoy. I didn't care if I had a horrible upbringing! I wanted to prove them all wrong! I wanted to prove I was worth adopting! I didn't want it to ever get to me that I was an orphan. But it did." He shook his head, and looked back to Mr. Mantle. "But one day, while I was out, I met a man at the park. He was sitting alone on a park bench, smiling and humming some song. I went over to him to ask him what he was humming... because I don't know... I just really liked the song he was humming. It was very catchy. So I asked, and he smiled at me and told me to sit down with him and he'd tell me. So I sat down and he told me some long, and amazingly interesting story... I can't remember the details of it anymore... It's been too long. But I remember it had something to do with Japan and ninjas and princesses." He glanced away and his eyes became rather far away in the memory of it. "He told me that the song was based off of that story. And I told him how cool it was." He smiled and looked back to Mr. Mantle.

"He asked me who I was, and I told him my name and then my story and... one thing led to another and we became friends. He told me of how he was an old retired martial arts master. He had plenty of stories about it. He knew very well of my dilemma and decided to help me. He taught me his martial arts skills... In order to defend myself against the abusive women and men at the orphanage, and also... so I could enter some tournaments when I was older and win prize money. He told me that he lived his whole life off prize money from tournaments. I was very excited about the whole thing. So he taught me. At one point I remember asking him if he could adopt me. He explained that he was retired and that he couldn't afford to adopt me." He sniffed and sighed.

"He really was like a father to me. I loved him so much." He shook his head of his melancholy expression and replaced it with a small smile. "But I was incredibly good. I recieved my black belt from him when I was about seventeen. Pretty impressive, right?" He leaned forward, grinning. Mr. Mantle nodded slightly. "Right! I was bad... in a good way! I wanted to enter a tournament right then! But my master told me that it would be better for me to wait. I was almost eighteen! I couldn't wait! I needed to win the prize money so I could buy myself a house! But he refused to let me enter. I was angry with him at the time, but I respected him too much to possibly enter behind his back. But then I turned eighteen. They kicked me out ON my birthday! I was homeless by that point. My master let me live with him for a short while. Then he entered me in the tournament and I kicked some serious butt!" He beamed proudly, but it was short lived as it soon became depressed.

"I lost. I lost the money. There weren't any other tournaments going on for a while after that. I lived with my master, training for when the next tournament would come. But..." Some tears escaped his eyes and he tried desperately to blink them back. He began speaking again, the misery evident in his voice. "He became sick. He was in his sixties. He... he... h-he died before they could even diagnose what the problem was." He sniffled, wiping his eyes. "I was homeless by then. And I couldn't afford to enter any tournaments. The only thing he left for me was his own old black belt." He gestured to his belt, shakily. "I still wear it... in honor of him." He let out a small sob. Max knelt beside him and hugged him tight. Fred instantly fell over into his arms and cried on his shoulder, as Max finished his story for him. "I found him crying in the very alley above our heads six years ago. I welcomed into "The Home for the Homeless" and he's been here ever since." He patted the crying man's back.

"The Home for the Homeless" indeed. Mr. Mantle had heard of this place. Max had started it nearly twenty years ago after his own tragic story of becoming homeless. His story was well known by the homeless and poor people of Hillwood. He had been happily married at twenty, a successful business man of a major company that he never cared to say the name of anymore. His troubles had started when he was about in his thirties. His wife had divorced him and taken the house, the cars, and the cash. Everything! It was ridiculous! He became homeless. But he still had a big, successful job that paid very well. Sure he had to sleep on benches and inside cardboard boxes, but he had a job! He had always worn nothing but suits. Fancy, expensive suits. It was pretty much the only thing he owned. He didn't find much point in running around in jeans and t-shirts if a suit was available. So he wore suits. Even as a hobo, he wore suits. He got paid weekly, and he had been divorced right when he had gotten his latest paycheck, so his ex-wife had that now too.

He had to wait a week to get his paycheck, but that was still long enough for his clothing to get tattered and dirty from the elements and for him to start smelling bad. His boss caught on within day three of his homeless working, and had scolded him greatly. He told him to take a shower and to change his clothes or to get out. He hadn't told anyone of his situation. He was too ashamed to. Even then, with his boss yelling in his stubbled face. He tried to take a decent bath in a public bathroom at a grocery store... but that didn't work out too good. He was chased out of the store, naked! He had hid behind a trash can and put on his old tattered suit. He had sold the others so he could pay for food, so now he only had the tattered one. Luckily he had found an old needle and some thread, after hours of searching. He sewed his suit up best he could... but he still looked and smelled awful. But he definitely looked and smelled better than he had. He had gone to work the next day and been promptly... fired. He got his final check and started off to the park. His check consisted of $2,000.00, which was great, but not enough for any sort of home, and he was miles away from any hotels.

He had been walking on the sidewalk when he heard someone crying in an alley. He walked in curiously and found a short old woman with silvery-gray hair and bright gray eyes bawling on the ground. She was wearing a simple blue dress with white lace at the neck and bottom. He assumed she was also homeless. She looked so miserable. He had to help her. He had gone over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, smiling sadly at her. Her gaze lingered on him for a while and he soon worried she was going to start yelling at him to "GET OUT OF HER ALLEY, WHIPPER-SNAPPER!", but he still smiled at her. She soon began bawling again, only now on his shoulder. He rubbed her back and made soothing noises to try and comfort her. After a while, she stopped crying and looked to him with misty eyes and told him, "Thank you." He had smiled at her and even offered her his check. He knew it would hurt him greatly, but he couldn't stand seeing a homeless lady so miserable.

She had laughed at him lightly, much to his confusion, and she explained that she lived in the building they were leaning against. It was a fairly large building.

But he didn't get it. If she wasn't homeless... Then why had she been crying in an alley.

She had told him she was crying because she had just gotten the news from the doctor who told her she was to die within the month. She had had a horrible medical condition that had been slowly killing her for months. She told him of how she had no family at all. That she was all alone with no one to comfort or care about her..... until he came along. She had smiled at him and handed him over a piece of paper with something inside of it... something clunky and jingly. She had died minutes after. He had cried for her, even if he didn't know her well, he felt do bad for her. He was just glad he could comfort her and make her smile before she died. After a while, he remembered the paper and the clunky thing wrapped up inside of it. He picked it up off the ground and unraveled it. He gasped at what it was and what was inside.

It was the deed to her home along with the keys. She had just given him everything she owned... and just for comforting her? He felt so grateful to her. He used the phone inside to tell the morgue of her passing and they picked her up. Surely she'd have some family somewhere that would prepare a funeral for her... and if not, he would. Her sister's young, nineteen year old daughter saw fit to give her a funeral, and he was invited. It was a small turn out. He cried, as did a few others, but not nearly as much as him, or for the same reason. They were crying because she had left everything to some stranger, not for her passing. She truly didn't have a family. Or at least not one that loved her. It only made him cry harder.

He had spent his $2,000.00 on renovating and fixing up her old home and rented it to a nice family. The home had an underground room that he told the family was off limits because it was HIS home. He had been able to sledge hammer his way through the concrete and made a large hole in the ground, that he covered with a trash can lid. Later he added hinges to it to make it more like a door. He lived there and used the familes rent money to buy his food and some new, more comfortable clothing.

Later he had been noticing more and more homeless people walking around and felt so awful for them, because he knew how it felt... to feel so hopeless and in the dark. His underground home was a very large room, extremely large. He often felt very small in there. He decided that he had too much space to waste on simply himself, so he started inviting homeless people in alleys and such to come live with him. After a long while, more and more homeless people heard of the kind man that offered a home to any man, or woman who needed a home. So soon he came up with the name, "The Home for the Homeless" and the numbers built up over the years. More and more people came. He paid for their food and sometimes their clothing with the families rent money. He started paying more for the homeless in his home than for himself and was soon forced to wear the same clothing on a regular basis.

And that's how this whole thing had gotten started.

Mr. Mantle truly was in awe of the man's kindness. He was a good man.... a dirty one... but a good man.

It sickened him, but he hid it well. He didn't want to risk being thrown out.

But still... he was disgusted by how kind he could be under the horrible circumstances and to not feel the least bit vengeful of his horrid ex-wife for doing it to him.

NO! Instead he beamed that it all lead up to something good!

He was disgusted. He was repulsed. He was sickened!

He was _so_ envious.

* * *

It was recess time again, directly after lunch. The second and final one of the day. After this he'd just have to make it through class and then he would be free! Free to run as far away from Helga and hide until tonight. He really did want it to be special.

So now Arnold was hiding behind some trash cans, avoiding Helga at all costs.

He couldn't be around her. He had completely LOST it in the hallway during lunch. He had been preparing to kiss her like there was no tomorrow, and why? Because she just had to go and be so irresistible! Currently, Gerald was being distracted by Phoebe. He knew Helga had set that up! She was testing him... testing him on a test he knew he would fail if she managed to find him.

He heard footsteps. He gulped.

"OH! There ya are, Football Head! I've been looking all over for you!" She said in the sweetest voice she could muster... which was pretty darn sweet.

Arnold let out a shaky breath and turned to look at her, smiling only slightly.

"O-Oh! Hey.... Helga." He stood and looked around, anything but her eyes.

She giggled. "You've been awfully mysterious lately. Disappearing and hiding behind trash cans." She giggled again, purposely making it sound adorable. She went over to him and kissed his cheek briefly. "I like it."

He backed up rapidly, up against the fence, slowly sliding to the right, trying to think straight.

She giggled again and walked back over to him. "You're too cute, Arnold. But I have been looking for you for a reason." She said as she grabbed his arm to prevent his escape.

Arnold winced inwardly. _'Touching! Touching! BAD!' _He let out a faint little laugh, clearly very uncomfortably comfortable. "Oh? A-And what is that?" He glanced at her.

She smiled and sat down, pulling him down with her to the sitting position. She let go of his arm and grabbed his hand instead.

He took a deep breath looked to find his unhappy place to try and ward off his feelings and personal joy of her holding his hand.

She tightened her grip on his hand. "Arnold, I apologized for MY behavior... now I was hoping you'd do the same."

He looked back at her in surprise. He hadn't realized it had bothered her so much. "Oh, I'm sorry, Helga. I mean, for not apologizing sooner. I'm... Uh, sorry I got so angry back there. I guess I just kind of... snapped." He shrugged slightly, feeling bad.

She hid her smirk behind a flirty smile. "So..." She inched a bit closer. "Why were you so angry, Arnold?" She asked, feigning curiosity and confusion. She knew why... this was just part of her plan.

His eyes widened at her question. "Uh... I was... I was just... con-concerned... because I thought you could do better than him." He attempted a smile, but all he got was a straight nervous line.

She raised one side of her eyebrow. "Really? It didn't seem like that." She inched a bit closer, now practically hip to hip. "In fact... If I didn't know any better... I'd think that you were jealous."

Arnold jumped a bit at her words, and by her close proximity. "Yeah... I mean NO!" He corrected quickly, swallowing hard. Life was so much less complicated when he wasn't in love with her. He could have just rolled his eyes, said, "In your dreams, Helga." and walked away. But now he was caught. It was true. He kept his gaze straight ahead. "I wasn't j-jealous, Helga... Just, concerned. I thought you deserved better. That's all." He smiled toothily, trying to make it convincing. He was a horrible liar.

She shook her head, he didn't see, though. "Oh, Arnold. Would this have anything to do with that kiss you planted on me in the dumpster?" She smirked.

He started visibly shaking, especially when she took his other hand in hers also. He was forced to look into her big, blue eyes now. His lips started shaking. "No. That was just... just... in the heat of the moment!" He gulped... again.

She smiled. "No... No, Arnold, I don't think it was. How do you get caught up in the heat of the moment in a dumpster?" She laughed.

His eye twitched. She had him there. He didn't mean to make their first two-sided kiss be in a dumpster. It _was_ kinda in the heat of the moment. The only difference between his story now and the truth was that he meant it. Everything he said and including the kiss was sincere. But... that wasn't something she needed to know right now.

He averted his eyes to where Gerald was, silently praying he'd look over here. "Well... I did. So... that's... how, I guess. I wasn't jealous, though. Just concerned." He looked back at her and his eyes widened.

She had gotten ALOT closer since he had looked the other direction. He was nose to nose with her now. He could smell the scent of vanilla wafting from her. He could see straight into her big, brilliantly blue eyes. He could already taste her breath as it mingled with his. Her breath smelled and tasted like mint... She had planned on this. Curse..... her...... for............ doing............. _this_.

That was where his mind shut down of any and all logical thinking. His gaze became lovesick, his eyes glowing intensely into hers. He couldn't **TAKE IT ANYMORE**!

He pushed her roughly behind the trash cans and smashed his lips onto hers. Savoring her taste, her smell, her feel. He licked her lower lip desperately.

Helga's eyes were very wide at his actions. She had planned on kissing HIM, not the other way around. Just to see if he would kiss her back. If he did, it proved all her theories to be correct. Sure he had been acting strange... but there was still that small level of uncertainty, and this was the only way she could think to kill it. But before she even got a chance to kiss HIM, he had pounced on HER like a hungry tiger desperate for nourishment. And now, he was licking her lip! He wanted to FRENCH KISS HER! Her mind was squeeling in utter delight and joy as she opened her mouth up giddily.

His tongue flew into hers instantly, still very desperate to get as much of a taste as he could. He never wanted to stop. She had been testing him all day, ever since she had been de-hypnotized, and now he was gladly failing. He caressed her cheek as his other hand went behind her neck, pushing her head closer. He was laying on top of her, his legs casted to one side of her body. His head went back and forth every few seconds and his eyes were as tightly closed as they could get.

She brought her arms around his neck and kissed him back, competing with him. She was the incredibly passionate kisser! Not him! And he was putting up quite the fight. He pulled away and took a deep breath of air before diving back in almost within the same second. His hands went to her collar, as he pulled her closer making sure she stayed there kissing him without question.

She was amazed by his actions. She must have REALLY been getting to him with all her flirting today.

"Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmm. You were so close, Arnold. So close." Gerald exclaimed.

Arnold simply waved him off, but Helga's eyes were very wide from being caught. Although she _guessed_ it didn't matter that it was Gerald, it was still unnerving.

Gerald stood watching with interest. It was a very interesting.... and repulsive..... sight. Helga's eyes were open and looking at him warily while Arnold continued his actions, not even caring that he was watching.

Finally, Gerald decided to put an end to it. Enough was enough. He walked over and pulled Arnold back... or tried to, at least. Arnold just gripped Helga harder, bringing his hands to her waist. He WASN'T done yet! She had been torturing him ALL day and he couldn't handle it anymore.

Gerald became worried. Arnold was being pretty intense, and Helga was still uncomfortable with his presence, though, he could see the sheer happiness shining in her eyes along with her discomfort. He sighed and decided to do the one thing he knew would snap him out of it.

"MMMMOWW!" Arnold screamed into her mouth, finally pulling back to glare at Gerald. That is... until he remembered what he had been doing. He looked down at Helga with wide, scared eyes. He was elated at what he saw.

She had the dreamiest look on her face and she laid limp in his arms. He beamed at her reaction. But then quickly remembered what he had just done.

He got an idea, though.

He got up and reached into her shirt, pulling out the locket she had shown him when she was hypnotized. He placed it on her chest and placed her hands on it, then grabbed Gerald's arm and fled the scene as fast as he could.

Gerald was greatly confused by his actions, and was practically being dragged by Arnold over to the swings. Arnold hopped on quick and pulled Gerald into the one next to him, then started swinging his legs in and out, already swinging fairly high. He grunted at Gerald to do the same.

Gerald did so. "Arnold, what was that about?"

Arnold kept pumping. "Trust me, Gerald. It's fixed... and I..." He let out a dreamy sigh. "Got my fill... well, for now. I doubt this feeling will last long, but it'll help for a little while." He beamed at the fact that he had just gotten to make out with her scott-free.

Gerald raised an eyebrow, but decided he could always ask later... or observe. He looked to where Helga's limp body still laid with interest.

Helga let out a dreamy sigh, but then finally noticed the lack of Arnold... or Gerald, for that matter. She looked around and saw that they were swinging. She was so confused. What just happened?

She then noticed that she was holding her locket. She grunted.

"I should've known I was daydreaming. That kiss was way too good to be true! And really! Arnold more passionate than me?! As if!" She put her locket back into her shirt and slapped herself to make sure she was in reality now. Wow... talk about intense.

She shook her head, and went to go jump some rope.

Arnold watched her actions and snickered.

Maybe things were looking up.

* * *

**A/N: The beginning is sad, isn't it? Well, I have more sad and/or comical hobo stories coming up, followed by a HUGE plot twist! It's probably gonna be freaking a lot of people out! Which is my main directive at the moment! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! **

**Also, I know of a great Helga/Arnold fan video on Youtube that adds to both the sadness of the homeless people, and to the Helga/Arnold love here. =D**

**Heres the link: ****/watch?v=2U0u4i547TA **

**Just add Youtube to the front of that and there you go. =D**

**Also...**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Yola Dudes and Dudets,**

**Here's Chapter 12 of "Hypnotizing Helga"!!! **

**So anyway, I would like to formally apologize for the huge plot twist taking place in this chapter. You're all probably gonna hate me, but I gotta do this. This story has become too plain-Jane for my liking. So I'm adding some additional insanity to the story... and NO I don't mean more Curly flyin' through the sky in a stinkin' silver truck with wings welded into the sides. :P**

**I do hope you have a very "Special" time reading it... and try not to hate me. =D**

**Disclaimer: Honestly, at this point, do you think I own Hey Arnold!? I should hope not. Otherwise ya'll are even denser than the ol' Football Head himself.**

**

* * *

Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 12**

Arnold walked into the classroom, still very curious about the whole Mr. Mantle situation. He was talking awfully rudely about his love, and frankly... he didn't like it.

But he was gone now. He still didn't know why he was here in the first place, but he was gone. So that was good. He didn't even want to think about what Helga would have done to him if she had heard some of the stuff he was saying about her.

Still... He wasn't getting very good vibes from the whole mess. Not at all. But really, he had seemed like a nice enough guy. Maybe he was just still angry about that 'toilet' comment from Helga. And Arnold couldn't deny that he did smell really bad. But he was too polite to say so... and Helga wasn't. So he just kept his distance so he wouldn't have to smell him, and Helga outright told him he smelled like a toilet. He wondered what he was talking about. Ratting him out? Ratting him out... Huh. Arnold didn't get it. But he was gone. So Arnold was trying to ward off any of those thoughts... but he still didn't feel right about the whole situation.

Something was up.

Oh well, it wasn't like he could do anything about it. At least, not now. He'd just have to wait and see if anything out of the ordinary happens.

He shook his head and continued trekking through the halls, in the direction of the classroom.

He was still so elated that he got to kiss Helga. And it caused no damage at all to his later plans! He was most definitely on cloud nine right now.

She had eaten breath mints before hand. He could taste them. She had planned on them kissing. She had been trying to make him snap all day... and she unknowingly succeeded.

And HE... He sighed in a lovesick manner... got a freebie.

He just needed this content feeling to last him through the last class of the day, and then everything would be fine.

At least, as long as she didn't force him to walk her home or anything. That would be bad.

Arnold swallowed hard just at the idea. He knew Gerald would be walking Phoebe home... and that meant no way of escape.

NO! He had to stay as far away as possible.

But their make out session earlier should tide him over for a little bit. He grinned at that thought.

He was so happy right now.

Helga suddenly appeared at his side, linking her arm with his.

"Hows tricks, Football?"

Arnold smiled at her. "Everything is great, Helga. Just grreeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaat." He got a half-lidded gaze as he faced forward again.

She chuckled. "Oh? Mind if I try to fix that?" She asked as she started pushing him into an open closet.

Arnold panicked, trying to push back, but she was too strong for him. She continued pushing and then promptly locked the door once they were inside.

She walked over to him. "Arnold," She started quietly. "I'm having some issues with my hair."

He looked up at her.

It was mostly dark, but there was light coming through the cracks in the door, illuminating the room slightly.

It was just... slightly dark. Shadowy kinda, and... romantic.

Arnold shook his head of these thoughts, and looked back at Helga.

Her hair was slung over one shoulder and he knew she wanted a response of some sort. But he wasn't sure what to say. He thought her hair looked nice. Very nice.

He cleared his throat, looking away from her. "Um... How so?"

She smiled at him. "Well, I did have it in my usual pig-tails... but it appears that you've been holding onto my bow all day. I guess I'm cool with that, I'd just like to know why you like it so much... or at least enough to hold onto it all day."

He swallowed hard. Why did he like it? How couldn't he like it? He loved it. It was so lovely. It reminded him of her. And she just said she was okay with him holding onto it. But she wanted to know why. He wanted to tell her it was because he loved her... but really? In a closet in school? Well... it was kinda romantic. And it smelled like flowers thanks to all the air freshener being stored in there. Maybe he could tell her...

"Well, Helga... I guess I just like it because it's pink... well, like your dress. And it smells like you. And it feels like you. And it... just reminds me of you. And I like you a lot."

She beamed slightly. "In what way?" She asked innocently as she leaned against the door.

Arnold smiled lovingly at her, and approached her slowly. "In what way, you ask?" She nodded.

"Well... I'm not quite sure." He played as he was now right in front of her. She was crouching kinda, leaning against the door, so she was at his level perfectly. He clasped his hand around hers and caressed her cheek with his other hand.

"You're not?" She asked, smirking.

He smiled with half-lidded eyes again, only now with even more love. "Well... I may have an idea." He whispered.

She smiled at him lovingly too. "And what idea might that be?" She whispered back.

He threw his arms around her and dipped her back, staring into her big, blue eyes with love and adoration. "Something like this..." He pushed his lips against hers gently, as to add to the atmosphere. She instantly complied and kissed him back.

He felt so happy...

"ARNOLD!!!!!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He jolted up from his desk, his entire expression freaked out. He looked around frantically. He was in class, and everyones' eyes were on him, and many were laughing.

He looked to Helga and saw her snickering with delight. She was so sweet when she laughed...

He smiled lovingly at her, before realizing everyone was laughing at him. He sighed and settled in his seat.

Gerald smiled sympathetically at him. "Sorry you had to go through that, buddy," He said quietly, so no one else would hear. "But you were muttering her name and everything. Luckily it was too soft for anyone to hear." He patted him on the back just as the laughing was settling down.

Arnold looked back to Helga, who was now smirking at him, as if she knew what he had been dreaming. He smiled at her briefly before turning back around and resting his head on his arms on his desk, sighing heavily. "Thanks, Gerald."

Gerald smiled and leaned back in his desk. "No problem, man."

Arnold sighed again. _'Guess I'm still feeling anxious about tonight... But what am I gonna say?! How am I gonna express my feelings to her without sounding like a lovesick fool... which I am.'_ He sighed again, closing his eyes. _'I could be blunt... "Helga, I love you and want to be your boyfriend"... Nah. Umm... "Helga, I've thought long and hard about your confession and how I feel about you, and have come to the conclusion that I am in love with you too."... Maybe that one... It's not very romantic sounding though. I could just take her by the hand and kiss it softly... before spilling my guts out. Or maybe I could go the "Helga Way" and just... be passionate?'_ He mused about what that would sound like. _'Yeah...'_

_"So, Arnoldo, spill it. Why'd ya drag me over to your house?" Helga asked as she stood directly behind him, with her hands on her hips._

_Arnold turned abruptly, a wild look in his eyes. "What else are you supposed to do when someone you love doesn't know you love them?!"_

_She blinked. "Love?"_

_Arnold advance on her, pointing a finger in her face, making her lose her balance a little. "You heard me, Helga! I love you! LOVE YOU!" She fell back at those words, but quickly made it to her feet, backing up as he walked after her. "Who else do you think has been staring at you all through class, keeping their distance in fear that they'd snap and kiss you, filling dozens of notebooks of your name in hearts?! I LOVE YOU, HELGA! I've ALWAYS loved you! Ever since I first laid eyes on that adorable pig-tailed head of yours! And from that moment and every moment since I've subconsciously lived and dreamed of the day I could tell you my feelings and kiss you and... Aw, come here, my love!" By this time she was trapped in a corner of his room, no way to escape. He grabbed her roughly and pushed his lips to hers in one of the most passionately sloppy and cootie infested kisses EVER!_

_Of course HELGA would kiss back, and they'd kiss for precisely eight or nine seconds before she would push him back. "Wait, did you just say you loved me?" She asked, positively beaming. _

_He beamed back and squeeze her arms lightly. "Didn't you hear me?!"_

_Someone knocked on the door. "Hey Arnold, Buddy! It's Gerald! Can I come in?!"_

_Arnold growled. "NOT NOW!"_

_"Not now?!"_

_Arnold gripped Helga tighter. "Oh, Helga!"_

_"Oh, Arnold!"_

_They kissed again._

Arnold chuckled lightly, luckily everyone was talking too loud to hear him, and Mr. Simmons had left the classroom.

He decided he'd just wait. Hopefully whatever came out of his mouth would be romantic.

He sighed again. _'Hopefully...'_

_

* * *

_Mr. Mantle sighed. "No offense to you guys, but your stories are kinda lame. I mean really! Home office burns down, low on cash, parents die in fiery plane crash somewhere in the Bahamas. Where's the excitement?!"

Most glared at the man for his lack of caring, but one man came forward with a really creepy smile on his face, his eye twitched every few seconds it seemed. He had a white, long beard with lots of dirt in it, and even some bugs could be spotted crawling around in it. His teeth were all chipped and his head was bald. He wore an old, dirty lab coat with some ripped up white dress pants underneath. He was holding a rolled up piece of blue paper in both his hands, as he limped forward, still smiling down at Mr. Mantle.

"Ya wanna hear something exciting you say? Well then you'll love my tale." He was sitting next ti him in a flash, which startled Mr. Mantle a bit.

The man looked at him, the smile still plastered onto his face. "My name is Lenny... But my friends call me Lenno."

Mr. Mantle smiled uneasily. "Nice to meet you, Lenno."

Lenny's smile dropped and his eye twitched again. "You call me Lenny!"

Mr. Mantle was a bit taken aback by the sudden change of tone. "O-Okay... Lenny."

The smile instantly appeared back and he looked off into the distance, although it was really nothing by a wall. "I was once a scientist. A genius. Best of the best. I wanted to create something of my own though... I wanted to invent and test and create a better world. I wanted to prove my mother WRONG!" His smile faltered just a little momentarily before he continued. "So I came up with an idea. It was state of the art! It was a giant vacuum that could be spread underground all throughout Hillwood city and clean this town up within seconds. It would suck up all the trash everywhere and make this town better. It was going to make me rich! But when I proposed the idea everyone told me I was a loon. No one would provide funding for my idea! So I decided to fund it myself. Once I got it up and running and showed it to everyone, it would be a huge success and I'd become rich anyway, so it wasn't a problem. So I worked on it for about a year... paying for everything myself." His eye twitched, but his smile remained. "I was sure that it would work beautifully, so I brought it to my fellow scientists and boss, and switched it on for them to inspect... and to eat their words, of course. They said it wouldn't work. They said I was crazy! Well who's crazy now?!" His smile widened and both his eyes twitched.

"It worked... for about a minute. It sucked everything up... but then it shot it back out like a gun shot and it injured some of my fellow scientists... I was fired and then promptly sued me for all the damage my machine caused... and all the medical bills, of course. I went bankrupt and had my car taken away... along with my house, my cat, and my girlfriend. So then I was a miserable, smelly hobo on the street. I found the 'Home for the Homeless' and have lived here ever since... That was about twelve years ago." His eye twitched again and his teeth chattered with excitement as he smiled at Mr. Mantle.

Mr. Mantle scooted a little farther away from Lenny, his entire expression uneasy.

Lenny continued. "The only thing I have left is the blue prints of my old machine... which doesn't actually work anyway, so why am I holding onto them still? I don't know... I just can't bring myself to get rid of them." His grin spread across his face and his eyes went wide, although one twitched... again.

Mr. Mantle laughed nervously."Yeah... so anyway... anyone else here got anything to do other than listen to these stories over and over again?" He asked in frustration of hearing so many stories.

Max came forward. "Well, there's not much to do except read old newspaper articles found in the dumpsters and... talk."

Mr. Mantle growled, his anger returning. "OH! WHY ME?! WHY US?!"

Some nodded sadly, as they all understood his anger.

"Have we all been wronged?!" He pointed to Fred, who was sitting on the ground. "YOU! Haven't you ever wanted to get back at those horrible women and men at the orphanage who treated you like trash, and are probably still doing so! Only now to other kids?!"

Fred looked taken aback by his question. "Well... Of course it's crossed my mind... but-"

Mr. Mantle continued, cutting him off and standing up now, "And you!" He pointed to Max. "Haven't you ever wanted to get back at your nasty wife for divorcing you like that and taking everything?!"

Max narrowed his eyes. "Of course I've thought of it, but I would never-"

Mr. Mantle cut him off, now pointing to Lenny. "And I'm sure by that twisted grin on you face that YOU would love to get revenge."

Lenny perked up instantly, gripping the rolled up paper in his hands more, and smiling even wider. "YES! REVENGE!"

Mr. Mantle smiled briefly at him before scowling back at the rest of them. "Haven't we all been wronged?! Do any of us TRULY belong in this RAT HOLE?!"

They all blinked and suddenly nodded in agreement after thinking it over. One man in the back stood up. "YEAH! WE DON'T BELONG HERE!"

"YEAH!" Came the chorused agreement.

Mr. Mantle smiled at their determination. "GREAT! So we all agree to get back at them?! ALL OF THEM?! I know I want revenge against that awful little brat that did this to me!"

"YEAH!" Came everyone again. Suddenly Max stood up, his eyes narrowed at all of them. "Now I am appalled by all of you! How could any of you possibly even consider revenge? It's an awful thing! I'm surprised at you all! Spreading nastiness only brings forth more nastiness! This is wrong to even consider doing!"

They all looked at him, dead quiet. Mr. Mantle smirked. "Tie him up."

Max looked at him in surprise. "Huh?"

Instantly several hobos stood with pieces of old rope they had found in the dumpsters and approached him.

He struggled, but they were too strong. "HEY! STOP IT! You can't do this to-" The rest of his speech was cut short as Mr. Mantle shoved a sock into his mouth. He was now tied up and sitting on the couch, squirming with his eyes narrowed.

Mr. Mantle smirked at him and turned back around. "Now all we need is a plan. Does anyone have any powerful relatives of any sort?"

Everyone snickered and pointed across the room to one man who was laying asleep on an old, green chair across the room.

Mr. Mantle raised an eyebrow and approached him. He pushed him roughly and he woke up. "Wha?"

"They say you have powerful relatives... Is that true?"

The man smacked his mouth and scratched his butt as he sat up and stretched. "Yeah..."

Mr. Mantle blinked at him. "Well... who?"

The man looked at him. "My brother is the mayor."

Mr. Mantle's eyes widened. "WHAT?! Then why are you living here?! Shouldn't you be living with him?!"

He yawned. "No. I did for a while though. Said he'd put me up for a month or two as long as I got a job. But I didn't ever do it... so eventually he just kicked me out... told me that if I ever decided to grow up and get a job he'd give me a home again till I got back on my feet."

"And you never did?"

He shrugged and reclined back. "Nah."

Mr. Mantle sighed. "Well... we've got that. We can use that."

He turned back around. "Now all we need is a plan." Everyone took on pensive looks.

After a minute or two Mr. Mantle snickered evilly. "I've got it! Lenny-"

"Call me Lenno!" He exclaimed enthusiastically.

Mr. Mantle blinked, before smiling again. "Okay... Lenno, do you think it would be possible to set up your machine in the city?"

Lenny smiled wide, and for once his eye didn't twitch. "YES! We could use most of the things we find in the dumpsters and allies... and we could borrow some tools from the family upstairs! They went out to visit their grandparents so if we work fast we can probably get those tools out and back within the three or four hours they're gone."

Mr. Mantle grinned almost as creepily as Lenny himself. "Excellent. So we'll set up your machine throughout Hillwood, and we have about a three hour limit to do it. So we've gotta work fast. Who's in?"

Everyone raised their arms high... except for Max who was squirming desperately and grunting in objection... but everyone ignored him.

Mr. Mantle laughed sinisterly. "Good. Now let's get to work... we've got a town to destroy." He smiled wider. "And a little girl too."

They all got up and started around, as Lenny showed off the blueprints to his machine to help them find the right parts.

Mr. Mantle smirked at them all. "This is gonna be a piece of cake."

* * *

Helga purposely dropped her pencil over towards Arnold desk.

Arnold noticed it and looked over to Helga.

She smiled at him and gestured for him to give back her pencil.

Arnold smiled back, his eyes half-lidded before bending down to pick up her pencil.

He walked over to her and placed it on her desk.

She smiled flirtatiously at him and he gulped before smiling one last time and rushing back over to his desk.

Helga smirked._ 'Just wait till after school, my pet... This is gonna be a piece of cake.'_ She thought as she picked up her pencil and began writing yet another flirty note for him, smirking all the while.

* * *

**A/N: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is just part one of my evil twistacular scheme! MWAHAHAHA! I'm sure some are still confused about what Mr. Mantle's plan is... well you'll all just hav'ta wait! *Sticks tongue out at you***

**Also... NintendoGal55 wrote a companion fic to my fic here entitled, "Control" which is just AMAZING! I'm still very grateful to her for it... So if any of you have a hankerin' for more "Hypnotizing Helga"... Go read "Control"! You won't regret it!!! It's AWESOME!!!**

**THANKS NintendoGal55!!!!! "Hypnotizing Helga" loves you to bits!**

**(=^{D**

**So as usual....**

**REVIEW!!!! I LIVE OFF REVIEWS, PEOPLE! SO REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Welcome New-Comers and Old-Comers alike...**

**To the thirteenth chapter of "Hypnotizing Helga"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *Holds up cup* CHEERS!!!!!**

**WHOO HOO!!!!!**

**I'm sorry this took me so long to get up. I've been busy with life and such. I know! Surprising, right? Me? Have a LIFE???!!! I'm pretty sure that's one of the signs of the apocalypse!**

**XD**

**Well... This is the part where my annoying yet entertaining banter ends, and I command YOU to read. So... READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: The owning of Hey Arnold! me no do.**

**

* * *

****Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 13  
**

All the homeless men and few women came flooding back into their underground shelter. They all collapsed onto the ground, most grumbling to themselves about the horrible smells they had to endure during their escapades through the sewers.

Lenny jumped through the hole, smiling like a maniac, and reading through his blueprints one last time.

Mr. Mantle stood from the couch and approached him, carefully stepping over all the exhausted people on the floor. "Did you get it set up?"

Lenny looked up from his blueprints, still smiling widely, and rolled up the blue paper snugly and stuffed it inside his scientist coat. As he did this, he also pulled out a small remote with little yahoo lids as the buttons and tossed it over to him. Mr. Mantle caught it, but it bounced a bit, and he fumbled to get a better hold of it.

Lenny spoke enthusiastically, clasping his hands together in anticipation of his reaction, "There's the remote. It's all set up across the city. Just press the big, red yahoo lid down and it will activate it." He grinned wildly.

Mr. Mantle smiled evilly, admiring the remote. "Good work, Lenno."

He nodded, still grinning from ear to ear before collapsing instantly in exhaustion himself, immediately falling asleep and snoring loudly.

Mr. Mantle just backed away from him, not concerned in the least, and tucked the remote away safely in the pocket of his sweat pants.

He turned and walked over to the same chair that occupied the sleeping form of Edward.

"Edward!" He urged, as he shook him slightly.

The foul smelling man simply let out a long, drawn out snore in response.

Mr. Mantle narrowed his eyebrows in determination, and also in a bit in disgust. "Edward!" He spoke a little louder, and shook him rougher, in hopes of receiving the desired response.

Edward groaned loudly, and rolled over in the chair, clearly awake but being stubborn to get up.

Mr. Mantle growled and grabbed his arm, yanking him off the chair and onto the floor.

"OW! What was that for?!" Edward asked, rubbing his behind.

Mr. Mantle sat down in his chair and leaned down in his face. "I need you to help me make little phone call."

He blinked up at the man. "A phone call? To who?"

Mr. Mantle smiled wickedly. "Oh, no one in particular... Just your brother."

He sat up, blinking in bewilderment. "Why my brother?"

He raised one of his eyebrows in a sinister manner, still smiling that twisted smile. "... I just want to warn him of what's to come if he doesn't comply with our demands. Do you really want to live in this dump for the rest of your life while your brother is off spending money left and right, knowing perfectly well that he's got a poor, starving brother out on the streets?" He feigned sadness at the last part, his eyes shimmering with fake tears. What could he say? He was a con-man. A natural born actor.

Edward's eyes narrowed and he pulled out a tiny slip of paper and handed it to Mr. Mantle. "There's his number."

Mr. Mantle observed the paper with a pleased look on his face, wiping away his tears, then flipped the paper over, as a devious smirk appeared on his face. "Is this an address on here too?"

Edward's eyes lit up. "It has an address?" He asked, clasping his hands together.

Mr. Mantle raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah... didn't you ever look at it?"

Edward yawned. "No. He told me it had his number when he gave it to me... but never his address. I think I was half asleep when he gave it to me and threw me out."

"And you haven't looked at it since?" Mr. Mantle asked in a listless tone, his face blank as he looked at the man sitting on the floor.

He unclasped his hands, yawning again. "Of course I've looked at it. Sometimes when it gets too cold for my liking, I call complaining... But I've never flipped it over." He shrugged.

Mr. Mantle sighed. "Whatever. We just need to make this call."

Mr. Mantle stood up and walked towards the dirty, old phone pinned up to the wall. When he didn't hear footsteps behind him, he turned around to see Edward back in the chair, snoring loudly. He slapped his hand to his forehead. "Imbecile."

* * *

"Okay, class, get out your notebooks and prepare to write down your homework." The class groaned. "Oh, come on now. I would like you all to read from page-"

**B-B-B-RING!**

The class shot up and ran out the door at incredible speed, leaving a cloud of dust behind their feet and papers to float to the ground in their rush. Mr. Simmons blinked, and sighed. "...123 to 125." He finished quietly as he turned to his desk to grade papers.

Arnold ran up to Gerald hurriedly as he rushed through the halls. "Gerald, I need you to walk home with me."

Gerald blinked at his blunt remark and looked over at him, slowing his pace. "I can't, Arnold. I already told Phoebe I'd walk with her, and I can't break a promise. Just run as fast as you possibly can to the boarding house and avoid Helga at all cost."

The next thing Gerald knew, he was being held by the collar, with Arnold looking at him with desperate, pleading eyes. "Gerald," He started quietly. "She won't stop. She wants me to break, and I already have once today... I got lucky there but not this time. She won't let it get past her this time, Gerald. I can't control myself around her! Ten year olds are NOT supposed to be like this, Gerald! You've gotta help me!" He shook him a bit.

Gerald pulled himself out of his friend's grasp. "Arnold, I told you, I can't break a promise. I learned that from _you_. Now just do what I told you. Run like heck and stay away from Helga." He walked ahead and grabbed Phoebe's hand as they exited the building.

Arnold gulped as he looked around wearily. Class had been a horribly dream-like nightmare for him. Even harder than before. She had kicked it all into over drive, and kissing her once but then being denied doing it again was just torturous agony. The flirty notes, the continuous "dropping" of her pencil, how she kept forgetting the page numbers and HAD to ask him, and how she had stolen Rhonda's expensive French perfume and kept walking past him to "sharpen her pencil". Why was she doing this to him?! Couldn't she just be patient?! He was always patient with her! But then again... they were pretty much polar opposites, so he guessed that made sense... BUT STILL!

He began trekking down the hall towards the exit, looking around paranoid. Once he made it out, he began running down the sidewalk towards the boarding house. He had been running for about a minute and was passing an alley when suddenly, something shot out and grabbed his arm, pulling him in.

He kept his eyes closed. Either it was a mugger or... He sniffed. Yup, French, intoxicating perfume that was so uniquely coupled with her regular scent of vanilla that he loved so much. Helga. She was already driving his senses into overdrive with her smell. He was afraid of what she was going to be doing next.

He felt her hug him close. He felt her kiss his cheek, then his ear. He felt her rubbing his back soothingly. He felt her whisper into his ear, sending a tremble throughout his body, that he knew she felt. "Hey, Arnold, what's the matter? You were running like a banshee just now. Is everything okay?"

He nodded weakly, feeling like pudding in her arms, still not speaking, and his eyes still shut tight.

"Good. I was afraid for a second there. You look very distressed. Are you sure everythings fine with you?"

He barely even nodded, but she felt it none the less. He felt her shift a bit, then he felt her hair tickling his cheek. Her soft, sweet smelling hair. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her _really_ bad. And he knew that was a bad idea, but somehow knowing that only made him want to kiss her more. But he had to stop this, to control himself. So he did the only thing he knew to do.

He slapped himself.

It hurt, but it worked. It snapped him out of it. He pushed her away gently and smiled kindly. "Don't worry, Helga. I'm fine. I just needed to get home soon... to prepare for tonight. You just be at my house by about 5:30, okay?"

She blinked in utter confusion, but nodded none the less.

He kissed her cheek and walked out of the alley.

Well, he had a sore cheek, but control. He felt good knowing he could control himself. If it ever got too hot, then he could slap himself, pinch himself, anything that hurt. It seemed to shock him awake from the dream world. He wondered if she ever did that. He had noticed her slap herself from time to time. Maybe that was why.

He smiled all the way to the boarding house. He had made it through school. Now all he had to do was make sure his family behaved themselves and his grandma cooked something digestible.

Easy.

* * *

It rang once. It rang twice. And then someone picked up.

"Hello, this is the mayor's personal secretary. How may I help you?"

Mr. Mantle cleared his throat. "This is Mr. Mantle from M.S. inc. I have a Mr.-..."

"Josephson!" Edward whispered quickly, as he sat in the chair next to where Mr. Mantle stood.

"-Hosephson. The mayor's-"

"JOSEPHSON!" Edward corrected briskly in annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr._ Josephson_, the mayors own brother. I have called for a personal reason that requires me to speak to the mayor himself."

"Oh... The mayors brother, you say? Did that two bit dweeb finally get himself a job?"

"That's why I'm calling. But this really is an important personal affair that I must speak to the mayor with."

"Alright then, he's just coming out of a meeting. Let me just notify him you called, and then I'll put you through."

"Okay. Thank you very much Mi-"

_Do do do dada do do do dada do do dada_

"Ugh. The horrid waiting music." He sighed and stood, waiting patiently as he absent-mindedly chewed on his nail, attempting to chew it off. He looked down at Edward sitting in the chair. It was the most awake he'd seen him yet. He was just sitting and staring up at him with half-lidded, bored looking eyes.

"I know. I hate that stupid music too....." He hesitated. "Was that his secratery you were just talking to?" He asked, his eyes lingering on him, wide for once, looking almost... hopeful?

Mr. Mantle raised an eyebrow. "Yes..." He answered slowly.

Edward smiled, his gaze looking far away. "What did she say about me?" He asked softly.

Mr. Mantle placed his free hand on his shoulder. "She called you a 'two bit dweeb'." He answered bluntly, in a flat voice after a moment.

Edward frowned, his eyes half-lidded again in annoyance. "Yeah, that sounds like her." He grumbled under his breath.

"Hello? This is Mayor Robert Josephson. I hear you're calling me under a personal matter. is something wrong?"

Mr. Mantle smiled wickedly. "Yes, something is definitely wrong. Do you realize that there are people starving in your city? Do you realize there are people out there living in the cold, mucky streets either waiting for someone to rescue them, mug them, or just kill them? Do you realize that your own BROTHER is living in these conditions?!"

There was a moment of silence. Then another. And another.

Finally, he answered. "Yes. I know that there are indeed homeless people living in Hillwood... but there are homeless people living all over America and especially outside of America. But what am I supposed to do? I've opened a few homeless shelters and there are people out there raising money to help them. We're doing what we can. And as for my brother... I told him I'd support him up until he got back on his feet. All he had to do was look in the newspapers or on the computer and find himself a job. Then once he had a steady income, he could rent an apartment. I supported him for at least a year! And he never even picked up the newspaper ONCE! I kicked him out in hopes of it motivating him and opening his eyes to the the fact that he NEEDS. TO. GET. A. JOB... I even told him that once he realized that he had to get a job and/or _got_ a job, I'd take him back in. But he hasn't done a thing since! Of course I worry... but I can't just support him for the rest of my life. I have a wife and kids I need to think of. Once he gets a job, I'll support him again till he's got his money problems solved... And who the heck are YOU to talk to me about such a personal matter?! Who are you?!"

Mr. Mantle smirked. "I'm the man who's going to be turning this city upside down... unless you agree to my demands."

"...Demands? What are you talking about?"

"I've got a giant vacuum rigged up all over this city. It's a huge, powerful machine that's highly complicated and impossible to disable unless you know how. And don't try to disable it either, because when tampered with... it will explode. Once turned on, it'll suck up all the garbage around the city. Not bad, right? Wrong, because after it sucks it up, it'll shoot it back out as fast as a bullet. I'm talking serious injuries, possibly fatal, damaged buildings, car crashes. Do you understand me, _MAYOR_?"

"..... Even if I did believe such a thing existed in my city, I don't know what-"

"YOU don't BELIEVE?!" He asked mockingly, in a dramatic voice that made most of the listening hobos snicker. "Well, then I guess, I'll have to prove it to you. Look outside your window."

A few moments passed before he spoke again. "Okay. I'm looking out my window... Why am I doing-"

"What do you see?" Mr. Mantle interrupted.

He heard the mayor sigh heavily on the other line. "I see garbage, but this IS a city. What are you gonna do? People just refuse to stop littering."

Mr. Mantle's smirk broadened. "I can think of a few ways to get it into their heads. Watch closely,_ Robert_." Mr. Mantle pressed the red yahoo lid button on the remote.

He heard him gasp. He knew it was because all the trash was being sucked into the sewers from the manholes all over the city.

Within about thirty seconds, all the trash had been sucked in, and he knew within the next thirty it would all come shooting out. "Mr. Mayor, I could stop it from shooting within the next few seconds, but only if you agree with my demands."

"Okay, okay! Turn it off! Turn it off!"

"Whatever you say, _Robert_." He pressed a small blue lid button, that he knew would stall the shooting. "Good. You might wanna get a pen or pencil, and some paper... So you don't forget my demands."

A moment passed. "Okay, what are your demands?" He asked wearily, laced with defeat and sorrow.

Mr. Mantle laughed evilly, loving every second of this new found power he had. "It's not MY demands only, Mayory. It's OUR demands. As in, most of the homeless people themselves. There's hundreds of us! So don't go back on this, or we'll not only activate the machine, but we'll also attack." Some of the homeless people's heads shot up at this, but he ignored them, continuing with his plan. "We want you to grant us access to the laws of Hillwood. We want to run things, and live lavishly like you. We want respect. We'll require full control of Hillwood city. Do you understand so far?"

"I-I... yes." He ended in defeat.

"Good little mayor. Or should I say, ex-mayor. We'll be heading down to where you are, and when we arrive, we expect a full banquet prepared for us. We've been eating scraps for a long time now and we're sick of it. All the guards better be down, because if they're not... CABLAMMO...! Uh, did you get that?"

"Yes."

"Good. Any questions?"

"Just one: What kind of sick creature are you?"

Mr. Mantle smirked. "The kind that will be controlling all of Hillwood in a matter of ONE hour. Be ready." He hung the phone up casually, and then clapped his hands together, looking around at all the people laying on the ground, sitting, or slumping against a wall.

"Get ready, everyone! We head out in twenty minutes!"

They all groaned and slumped on the floor in exhaustion.

Mr. Mantle rolled his eyes, and sighed. "There'll be food, remember?"

Everyone perked up instantly, some getting up from the ground anxiously, already drooling.

Mr. Mantle smiled. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

Arnold opened the door to the boarding house, stepping out of the way to let all the cats, dogs, and Abner out.

Once they were all out, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Grandpa! Grandma! I'm home!" He called out.

Grandma poked her head out from the kitchen, smiling at her grandson. "Why, hello, Kimba. How was your day with Eleanor?"

Arnold sighed at the memory and began walking up the stairs. "It was interesting, Grandma. Interesting."

Gertie could sense that he was feeling troubled, but simply smiled at him and went back in the kitchen. Phil was always better at the "talks", so she'd just leave it to the professional... or the closest thing they had to one.

Arnold walked through the halls, wondering what he was going to do, how he was going to tell her, how the family would act while she was here...

He needed advise.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and a cloud of steam was released. The steamy cloud disappeared to reveal Phil standing there, wearing a plain white robe, and holding a newspaper under his arm. Phil let out a contented sigh, not noticing Arnold standing there staring at him. "Awww, nothing like a nice, hot shower followed by the release of a couple hours worth of raspberries." He sighed again, his eyes half-lidded. He looked beside him and noticed Arnold. "Well, hey there, Shortman. Didn't see you there. How was school?" He asked as he tightened the towel like ropes on his robe.

Arnold sighed again. "It was one of the best and worst days of my life." He answered, looking away with his hands clasped behind his back.

Phil raised an eyebrow, placing one hand on his hip and now holding his newspaper in the other. "Am I sensing another one of your adolescent boyhood problems?"

Arnold simply nodded.

Phil smiled and sat down on the floor against the wall, patting the side next to him for Arnold.

Arnold complied, sitting down next to his grandfather. "...You remember how I said that I wasn't sure if I loved Helga or not?" He nodded, so Arnold continued. "Well... I figured that I kinda do... have some strong feelings for her, that I can label as more than a crush." He said slowly. Phil chuckled, but Arnold ignored him. "And today, she kinda figured that out and... used it against me sorta."

Phil smiled, already knowing where this was going. "And how'd she do that, Shortman?" He questioned, leaning in a bit curiously.

Arnold looked away uneasily, feeling weird about telling his grandpa of his love sickness. He hesitated before answering, still not looking him in the eye. "She got real close to me a lot, and hugged me, kissed my cheek, stuff like that. And it let me sorta... smell her when she was all close like that. And she smells really nice so... I sometimes get lost in the smell of her... and other things too." He groaned softly, feeling uncomfortable about telling his grandpa all this, as he rubbed his arm up and down with his other hand.

Phil smiled at him, though he couldn't see. "So what are you gonna do now, Loverboy?"

Arnold finally looked back at him. "I invited her over for dinner tonight so I could tell her officially. I hope that's okay."

Phil jumped up all of a sudden, his newspaper falling to the ground, as he put his hands on his head in panic, his eyes wide open and wild. "Oh no! What were you thinking, Arnold?! You invited her over HERE to tell her?! Here with Kokoshka, and all the other less irritating, but still annoying boarders?! Not to mention Pookie's crazy watermelon dinner that she's planning for tonight... AGAIN! Well, this just won't do, Arnold! We're gonna hav'ta have a change of plans here!" He started pacing, staring at the floor in thought. Arnold just watched in confusion and curiosity. Phil spoke again, but more to himself than Arnold, "We'll all go out to some fancy restaurant. That'll fix Pookie's horrid dinner plans... And you kids'll get your own table. That way Oskar won't be able to steal your food... You know what? Maybe we'll just leave Oskar at home. Yeah..." He stopped pacing, his hand on his chin as he looked down at Arnold still sitting on the floor. His hand dropped from his chin. "Well, don't just sit there, Shortman! Go call up your lady friend and let her know that there's been a change of plans...! Oh, I better go tell Pookie that her dinner plans have been cancelled, and tell her to break out the checkbook." He began walking down the hall, in the direction of the stairs. But he stopped and turned slightly to look at Arnold still sitting on the floor. "Well, chop chop, Shortman. Go go go." He ran down the remainder of the hall and descended the stairs clumsily. He slipped suddenly and went crashing to the ground, as cat was heard yelping. Arnold ran over to check on him, a bit panicky.

His grandpa just jumped back up and brushed his clothes off. Grumbling to himself as he looked to see what he had slipped on. He saw a banana peel now resting at the bottom of the stairs. He scowled. "**OSKAR!!!!!!**" He yelled angrily.

A window was heard being opened abruptly from upstairs, followed by another huge crash, then some laughing. "Heh, heh, heh!"

Phil just shook his head and walked into the kitchen, grumbling angrily under his breath. "No good, rotten, Kokoshka. Why when I was a lad..."

Arnold blinked as a blank look took over his face. He was used to this kinda thing, so it didn't surprise him. He walked down the opposite direction of the hall and stopped in front of a rope seemingly hanging from the ceiling. He pulled it down to reveal a flight of stairs leading up to his room. He ascended the stairs and proceeded to open the door, go in, and then shut the door firmly.

He smiled at finally getting some alone time.

He walked over to his red flip out couch that was currently out and sat down next to the little side table with his phone sitting atop it. He pulled out the silky, pink ribbon from his pocket and gazed at it lovingly as he held it in both hands. He nuzzled it against his cheek, savoring the silky, soft feel, and the unique scent of vanilla mixed with a bit of chocolate and even a dash of sweet smelling flowers. He inhaled it deeply before pulling the silky fabric away from his face and kissing it sweetly, and then setting it aside on the seat next to him, treating it as if it was the most delicate and precious thing in the world.

He looked to the phone, deciding now would probably be the best time to call Helga up and inform her on the change of plans. He was glad his grandpa seemed to have a hold on things... this didn't exactly happen often so he was grateful. He picked up the phone and dialed the number to the girl he loved.

Tonight was going to be perfect.

* * *

**A/N: And then Arnold was bombarded by Curly crashing through his skylight riding a peacock with a nerf gun loaded with raspberries, shooting them at him. Arnold screamed and jumped out the window, narrowly escaping the raspberries that would surely lead to his doom. He broke every bone in his body on impact and was driven off to the hospital after some random guy eating a peanut butter sandwich saw him and called 911.**

**Helga found out and immediately ran to the hospital on feet and made it to the hospital to find him dying in his bed.**

**Arnold looked at her weakly. "Listen to Grandpa, Helga... never eat raspberries... in fact, just stay away from them!" His head fell back and his tongue flew out of the side and draped itself over the open corner of his mouth. His head flew back up suddenly, and his eyes went wide. "OH! And I love you." His head fell back again and his tongue flew back out in it's original position. His head flew back up again. "A lot." He finished as his head flew back once again, and his tongue flew back out automatically.**

**Helga fell to her knees and threw her fists in the air dramatically by his bed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! WHY MUST THE GOOD DIE YOUNG?!?!?!"**

**LOL! XD**

**Well, that was fun. =D Sorry if you didn't find it as funny as me, but it was just a joke. I wouldn't really ever kill anyone off. THIS IS A FAMILY SHOW, PEOPLE!!!**

**Well... I might kill Brainy off and make it a running joke in my fics to kill him off each time. "Those ********! They killed Brainy!" But then he'll just magically appear alive again in my next fic. XD**

**HO HUM!**

**REVIEW ME CHUMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **

**Random Guy: _*Runs up to other random guy on street* Guess what!_**

**Other Random Guy: _*Chewing on bacon* What?_**

**Random Guy: _The fourteenth chapter to "Hypnotizing Helga* is up!_**

**Other Random Guy: _*Drops bacon* NO WAY! GET OUT! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!_**

**Random Guy: _DUH! I wouldn't joke about this!_**

**Other Random Guy: _*Grins toothily with bits of bacon stuck in between them. Girlish shriek heard in backround* WICKED_. **

**Random Guy: *_Scrunches face up in distaste upon seeing his smile* Uh... Yeah._**

**YAY! Yup, it's the fourteenth chapter! The one with their big date!!!! LOTS OF ROMANCE!!!**

**Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Hey. Arnold! *Runs away bawling***

* * *

**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 14**

Helga walked home, feeling quite dazed and upset from her last encounter with her beloved. She was so sure she'd be able to get him to crack, and it was her last chance to... but he just kissed her on the cheek and walked away. How did he even DO that? He was like putty in her hands for most of the day, and she had finally gotten him alone so Gerald couldn't ruin her fun. But he just kissed her CHEEK, and walked AWAY! Now she had to wait a whole hour and a half till she could kiss him. Ugh. Why did he have to make this so difficult on her? She wasn't a particularly patient person. Why didn't he realize that?!

She walked into her house and slammed the door in frustration.

"I'M HOME!" She called out. "Not that anyone cares." She muttered under her breath.

She ascended the stairs to her room and opened the door. She closed it firmly, remembering to lock it, and ran over to her bed, pouncing onto it, her face instantly meeting the soft plushness of her pillow.

She began talking to herself, her voice muffled over by the pillow her head rested in, "I was so sure I could get him to crack! I mean, he's been acting all lovesick and sweet around me all day, and yet he could just up and walk away, like it was no problem! How could he be so casual about it?! He WAS breaking! I knew it! But then he just walks away! WHAT IN THE HECK!" She got off her bed and walked over to her closet door. She opened it, and then stepped in, pushing aside her clothes. She walked further into the room and began climbing a ladder she had placed into the tiny space, that led up to a hole in the ceiling that led to the attic. She poked her head through and looked over to see her giant Arnold shrine crafted from stone. It was very large...

"Oh, Arnold!" She began, as she climbed through the hole and began walking down the red carpeted aisle she'd made to the shrine. "Why must you only have a crush on me...? Why must you have such weak feelings for me, while I have such strong, passionate feelings for you? Why must you like me, whilst I LOVE you...? I always thought that I'd be okay with you simply like-liking me, and me loving you... but it doesn't feel like it's enough..." Once reaching it, she got down on her knees, and gazed up at the stone likeness of her love. "I want you to pine for me like I do for you! I want you to love me with just as much intensity as I feel for you!" Her shoulders slouched, feeling defeated. "But... you don't. You just have a crush on me." She hung her head low, and her eyes downcast as she continued to kneel before the shrine. She lifted her eyes back up to it slowly, and a small smile came to her lips. "But... perhaps you _want_ to love me? Perhaps you'd be okay with loving me? Maybe we could... work to make you love me. I mean, crushes CAN intensify into love... maybe... just maybe..."

The phone rang suddenly, startling her. She jumped a little, and her eyes grew wide.

"OLGA! GET THE DANGED PHONE!" Her father yelled from downstairs.

Helga growled, feeling a familiar feeling of anger rise up inside of her, as she made her way back down the ladder and out of her closet, slamming the door. "OKAY, BOB!" She stomped over to her bed to sit down, grumbling to herself, "Since clearly I'm the only one with legs around here."

She plopped down on her bed, still feeling greatly annoyed, and picked up the phone forcefully. "Hello?" She asked with a slight edge.

"Hey, Helga? It's Arnold."

"ARNOLD!" She shrieked in a high-pitched voice, feeling a warmth come to her cheeks. She managed to gain her bearings though and laughed nervously. "Uh... I mean, hey there... Arnold. What's up?" She asked nervously, her voice still rather high.

"Well, there's been a slight change in plan for tonight-"

"Oh, don't tell me you're cancelling." She accused in an annoyed voice, while inwardly feeling greatly disappointed.

"Wha-NO! No, Helga... Um... We're just going OUT to eat now instead. So you'll have to dress formal." She heard him laughing nervously on the other end.

She let out a quiet, relieved sigh. "Oh, alrighty then. I can do that, no problem. Sounds good. I'll... um... see you then... I guess."

He laughed shakily on the other line. "Yeah. We'll pick you up at your house at six."

"I thought the time was five-thirty."

"Oh, it was... but that was when you were coming over to my house. It would've taken some time for my grandma to cook. But now we're just going directly to the food."

"Oh." She said, in a slightly disappointed voice. Now she had to wait a good _two_ hours to spend more time with him. She sighed. "Well, okay then, Arnold. I'll be sure to dress formally and I'll see you at six. Great. Bye."

"Bye."

She waited for him to hang up, but she didn't hear the click noise. She raised an eyebrow. "Um... Arnold? Do you think you could hang up now?"

"Uh... No, y-you can hang up first, Helga."

"Oh, no really, Arnold. I insist."

"Ladies first."

"That rule only applies for entering rooms, Football Head! Now hang up!"

"No. You should hang up first."

"But you were the one who called me!"

"Exactly! I was the one call, so you should be the one to hang up."

"That's not good phone etiquette, Arnoldo. You were the one to call, so you should be the one to hang up."

A moment passed and she smirked. Maybe she had won. Unfortunately her hopes were dashed when he spoke again. "How about we both hang up? At the same time?"

She considered this for a few seconds, and then smirked. "Okay, Arnold." She said in an overly pleasant voice.

"...Okay. We hang up on one... two... three."

She made no move to hang up, but she heard no little click sound from the other line. "You didn't hang up, did you, Arnold?"

"No. I guess you didn't either."

Helga sighed dramatically in frustration, and slapped a hand on her forehead. "This is ridiculous." She began as she rubbed her temple with her free hand. "This has gone FAR enough. Now if you don't hang up in the next five seconds, I will."

He didn't answer, as five seconds passed she sighed lightly. "Bye, Arnold. See you tonight." She hesitated a moment, then hung up.

She sat there a moment, a thoughtful look coming to her face. "Hmmmm... What am I going to wear?" She wondered aloud as she got up and walked back over to her closet. She opened the door and began sorting through her clothes. She looked at one. "Pink dress." She slid it aside, and turned to another. "Pink dress." She looked to another. "Pink dress." She growled as she looked to the next one. "And another pink dress!" She groaned. "Why do I own so many pink dresses?!" She started looking through her dresses at a faster pace, feeling angry with herself for having so much pink in her closet. It WAS her color, and it did suit her well... but it still got a little boring every once in a while, having nothing to wear but the same pink dress everyday. (**A/N: Curse Craig for doing this to her. XD**)

Just as she said this, she same upon a dress she hadn't even looked at in a long time. It was a birthday present from Olga, and she hadn't ever worn it for that exact reason. It was from _Ol-ga_... But... desperate times called for desperate measures. She smirked and took the dress out of her closet by the hanger, eyeing it over. She smirked. "Perfect."

* * *

Mr. Mantle smirked upon seeing the mayor's office building before him. This was where they ran Hillwood, and where her knew the mayor currently was. He looked behind him to make sure everyone was still with him.

Indeed they were all there, staring up at the building in awe. Mr. Mantle smiled at them and looked back up towards the building, taking a moment to feel a well deserved wave of pride run through him for what he'd accomplished so far.

He began walked towards the door, his hand grasping firmly to the remote that would mean Hillwoods doom if anyone even touched him once he entered. He stopped suddenly though, an uncertain look suddenly coming to his face, as he backed away from the door. "Hey, Michael, why don't you have the honors of going in first?" He said slowly, not taking his eyes off the door.

The young, twenty-year-old came out of the crowd excitedly, smiling widely at Mr. Mantle, who in turn, didn't even glance at him. He had soft brown hair, and big, baby-brown eyes. He wore a simple green jacket and some ripped up old blue jeans, along with some dirty, white sneakers. He held his black baseball cap in his hands also.

"Really?! I get to go first?!" He asked excitedly, practically jumping up and down.

Mr. Mantle nodded. "Sure, why not?" He shrugged lightly, his eyes still trained on the door.

The boy grinned and put his hat on backwards, proceeding towards the door. He swung the doors open, walked in and-...

"**AHHHHHH!**"

He was immediately lunged at by a guard and hand cuffed, then dragged off, a crying mass of blubber and shock.

Mr. Mantle shook his head. "I knew it." He said as he walked over to a pay phone calmly and picked up the phone, slipping in his last quarter, the one bit of money he didn't let _them_ have. He dialed a number and waited patiently, tapping his foot on the ground as it rang.

Someone picked up after only about two rings. "Hello, Mayor Robert Josephson here. What can I help you with?"

"Well, for starters Robert, you can call off your men and get that banquette I was talking about earlier cooking. Otherwise, I will be forced to press this oh so tempting red button on my remote here, and all of Hillwood will be bombarded by trash. Injuries, deaths, property damage. Do you really want that?"

There was a moment of silence, and Mr. Mantle knew that his expression was probably an ugly mixture of terror and shock. Thinking this pleased him greatly, but his expression remained blank and rather cunning in a way as he leaned against the payphone casually.

"I-I-I thought... Um, I'm sorry, I'll just call them down... Uh... don't do anything drastic, I'll come down myself and escort you up to my quarters. And I'll have that feast you wanted prepared immediately. So... I'll be right down. Sorry for the inconvenience."

He heard him hand up, and Mr. Mantle smirked at the phone before hanging up also.

He sighed lightly, walking back over to the group. "Piece of cake."

* * *

Arnold looked into his full length mirror on the inside of his closet door, which he had swung open, and grinned.

He was wearing a sleek, black suit with a blue tie, to match his hat, a prim white button shirt, and some shiny, black dress up shoes. He turned around and grinned at Gerald, who had arrived a little over an hour ago to help him get cleaned up and ready for his date.

"Well, how do I look?" He asked confidently, resting the backs of his hands on his hips.

Gerald smirked, his arms crossed over his chest as he stood before his slightly shorter friend. "A little over confident with himself, but nice nonetheless."

Arnold frowned lightly at him. "I meant what I was wearing, Gerald." He knew he was joking, but he was still a little annoyed.

Gerald sighed lightly and looked him up and down. "You look great!" He gave him a thumbs up, and smiled a toothy smile. "That girl is gonna be jumping all over you!"

Arnold chuckled lightly as he turned around, looking in the mirror to straighten up his tie. "She was already jumping all over me before." He stated, smiling lightly at what he had just said as he dusted his suit off.

Gerald smiled also and walked over to his friend's side, putting a hand on his shoulder. "And here I thought I was the ladies man." He shook his head. "My little buddy is growing up." He said emotionally as he wiped away some imaginary tears.

Arnold laughed and lifted Gerald's hand off his shoulder, who in turn took his hand back. "I'm pretty sure having only _one_ girl liking me doesn't make me a ladies man, Gerald."

"You used to have Lila like you, before she changed her mind and dumped you."

Arnold sighed at that and closed the door to his closet as Gerald continued, "She's just fickle, Arnold. You said Helga has loved you ever since she first laid eyes on you, so I'm sure it's pretty safe to say she's not going to go changing her mind and running off with some other more attractive and interesting boy."

Arnold's eyes widened just at the thought. He was now facing Gerald, so Gerald saw his expression of terror and patted him on the back. "Relax, man. This is Helga we're talking about. She's always stayed true to what she's thought or felt. She'll love you till the end of time. She's really stubborn." He rolled his eyes.

Arnold's look morphed into one of softness and love. "Yeah, I love that about her." He said softly, then sighed a lovesick sigh and walked over and sat on his couch as Gerald shook his head and said, "Yeah, I still don't get WHY you love her. But whatever, man."

Arnold nodded slowly, not really paying attention to his words as he gazed off into space.

Gerald sighed and walked over to him, waving a hand in front of his face. "Arnold! Snap out of it!"

Arnold blinked, blushing heavily. He coughed, feeling embarrassed, and looked down at his watch, anything other than Gerald's eyes. "Oh, looks like it's time to go. I'll see you tomorrow or something." He stuck his thumb out of a fist to him, grinning.

Gerald rolled his eyes a little, but smiled back nonetheless, and bumped his fist into Arnold's, wiggling his thumb around with his. "Yeah, I'll probably come by later to see how the date went. So I'll see ya then."

Arnold nodded, and they both exited his room. As they descended the steps of his room, Arnold could help but feel excited, nervous, anxious, and terrified all at the same time.

This was it.

* * *

Mr. Mantle snickered evilly as he sat back in the _mayor's own chair_, in the _mayor's own office_, with his feet propped up on the _mayor's own desk_.

All the homeless people were strewn about the room also. In one corner sat the mayor, tied up with ropes and his mouth duck taped so he'd be no longer interfereing with their plans. A few hobos sat around him, making sure he didn't try to escape.

Two men stood behind Mr. Mantle, so they could be sure no one tried to hurt him or defile him, even if he DID have the remote. They were his body guards and _he_... was the new mayor.

Finally, after a few, long moments of letting it all sink in, and enjoying every second of it, Mr. Mantle let his feet drop from the desk and leaned forward in his chair, placing his hands on the desk as he eyed each of the homeless people individually.

"Okay, people, we now control Hillwood." He announced, and they all cheered. Mr. Mantle smirked at them all, before standing up from his chair and looking around at them all. "The next order of business will be revenge. We'll start with moi first," He placed a hand on his chest. "because I'm the one who came up with the takeover plan and everything... and we'll just go from there. No fighting over who gets their revenge next! I'll choose by who worked the hardest in this mission... and whose revenge plans will be the funnest." A few snickered at that, but Mr. Mantle ignored them and simply continued, "For my revenge scheme, the first thing we're gonna have to do, is track down a little ten year old girl named Helga. Here is her description: Black unibrow, blonde pigtails, blue eyes, pretty tall for her age, and for some reason unknown... loves to wear pink. I'm not guaranteeing that will be what she's wearing, though. She may change, and if that's so, then please focus on her more basic features. Remember... black unibrow, blonde, blue eyes, and tall. We'll be sending out scouts to search for her, and once we've got her..." He smirked. "I'll just be taking care of the rest. Now who'd like to go kid hunting?"

* * *

Arnold and his family arrived at Helga's house just around 6:00.

Arnold got out of the Packard and began walking nervously up to her door... But what was there to be nervous about? She loved him and would love him no matter what he was wearing... but still, there was that small level of uncertainty. There was still a small part of him that found the whole "Helga loves Arnold" thing a bit far fetched. It was still weird, and new... and he was loving every second of it.

He stepped up the stairs of her stoop and knocked on the door, placing his hands behind him then as he waited patiently.

The door began creaking open, and Arnold found himself holding his breath, expecting it to be Helga, but when his greeter was fully visible, it turned out to be Bob. He breathed out in slight relief, but still felt a bit uneasy, especially since he was now in the presence of Big Bob Pataki.

"I'm here to pick up Helga." He said politely, his arms behind his back as he stared up at the much bigger man.

Bob wore a blank expression and just pointed to the stairs leading to her room. "She's in her room." And with that, he disappeared back into the trophy room.

Arnold looked around wearily for a moment, feeling unsure, before finally walking into the house, and looking up towards her room. He took a deep breath, and turned to give a quick nod to his grandparents still in the Packard outside, and closed the door behind him. He turned back around and walked over to the stairs, but before he could begin his journey upward... Helga began coming down from her room.

He felt his jaw drop suddenly and his eyes widen at the sight, and he could feel his heart begin beating vigorously against his chest.

She wore a dress much like the one she wore for the April fools dance, only with many differences. For starters, it was a spaghetti strapped dress, and had a silky, smooth, short sleeved white shirt underneath. The dress was a light, baby blue also, and was slightly shorter than her April fools dress, reaching just below her knees. She had on some blue flats, and her hair was down, and wavy. Topping off the look, she wore a small blue blue atop her head that matched the rest of her ensemble perfectly, as opposed to her signature pink one. She also wore some make up, but not a lot. Just some pink blush, and a little shimmering lip gloss. She looked radiant... at least to Arnold.

Arnold couldn't breath, and the only thing running through his mind at that moment was what flavor of lip gloss she was wearing, and how much he wished he could get a small taste and find out.

She smirked at him, as he stood motionless at the bottom of the stairs with his mouth opened slightly wide and his eyes bugged out. For once in her life, she was thankful to _Olga_. She was startled by this thought, and quickly shoved it from her mind, finishing her descent down the steps. She shut his mouth with a smirk and brushed past him to the door. That was when he smelled it. Her addicting vanilla scent, and wonderfully sweet smelling hair, along with a _new_ scent added to the mixture. The fancy French perfume from before had long since dissipated, as she now smelled like pink passion fruit, mango, kiwi, and many other exotic fruits. He was entranced by the smells radiating off of her.

Helga walked down the steps of her home to the Packard, and Arnold could only trail behind like a little lost puppy, his eyes focused on her along with all his current thoughts.

Helga was smiling widely the entire time she was walking out of her house and was getting into the Packard. It was obvious by his expression that he thought she looked good, and by the way he seemed to be sniffing her, it seemed he liked her new perfume.

Arnold got in after her, his eyes unmoving from Helga. The Packard was pretty crowded now though, so he and Helga were squished together pretty bad, not that either minded at all.

Gertie turned around in her seat in front and smiled at Helga. "Why Eleanor, don't you just look _adorable_."

Phil turned also and smiled at Helga, now with one hand on the wheel. "Well, my oh my! Arnold's got himself quite the catch!" He chuckled.

"Grandpa!" Arnold blushed, ripping his eyes away from Helga to look at Phil with wide eyes.

Helga's smile had dropped at that, but then she felt her mouth curve up a little, back into a smile. She couldn't help it. No one had ever really called her pretty or anything before.

Phil chuckled, as Gertie just smiled at Helga like any sweet little grandmother would.

Mr. Hyunh turned in his seat in the front also to get a look at Helga. "Yes, she does look very nice! Arnold, you have good taste!" He grinned widely, his pearlly white teeth in full view.

Helga blushed at that comment and looked away from Arnold. Arnold did the same.

Suzie, who was sitting right next to Helga smiled at her. "Why yes, she does look really sweet doesn't she...? Oh, she's blushing. Let's not compliment her anymore. She must feel so uncomfortable."

Helga blew a bit of air out her mouth. "You got that right." She muttered to herself quietly.

Mr. Potts looked around Suzie to see Helga. "Gee, Arnold, you sure know how to pick 'em. And what are ya talkin' about Suzie? Look at her. She's obviously flattered."

Suzie frowned. "Flattered but uncomfortable. We really should be more considerate of her feelings." She smiled at Helga at the last part of her statement.

Helga smiled back slightly. _'I think I like this chick...'_

Phil frowned also. "Now Ernie, you mustn't go making little blonde haired girls blush. It's rude and..." He looked at Helga and suddenly smiled, his eyes becoming dewy. "And they're just so CUTE when they blush!" He exclaimed, chuckling at the added blush to her cheeks. "Alright, alright. Let's just get going. We're losing daylight." He said as he turned around in his seat and started the car back up.

Once the car got moving, all the grown ups began chatting about random things as the kids just sat there awkwardly, still squished together.

Arnold turned to Helga after about a minute of silence. "So... you _do_ look really nice." He smiled nervously.

She gulped, looking away from Arnold for a moment while she composed herself. Finally, she looked back at Arnold and smirked. "Thanks, Football Head. You don't look too bad yourself."

He smiled a little and boldly, he took her hand in his. She was startled by the sudden contact, but made no move to separate her hand from his. She was _so _happy he was touching her... and **WILLINGLY** too!

As she was doing her mental happy dance and a slight dreamy smile lingered on her lips, Arnold's own mind was racing. He was so happy he was able to hold her hand like this. A small part of him expected her to quick grab it back, like she always had. But no, and now he got the privilege of holding her smooth, soft hand. He couldn't resist beginning to caress her hand a little. He was very pleased with his actions, as he now got to feel a bit more of her soft skin. So soft and creamy. He smiled dreamily, as her own dreamy smile only broadened.

They stayed like that for the remainder of the trip. Arnold caressing her hand as she just sat there and enjoyed it. Of course everyone noticed this display, but Suzie glared at them to shut their mouths every time someone opened their mouth to comment.

Finally they were at their destination. Arnold looked out the window to see what restaurant his grandpa had chosen...

Chez Pierre

Well, it was a good restaurant, he guessed... He knew they had good bread sticks... but that was about it. The last time he had been there was when he had his date with Ruth. Not a very happy memory... but then there was always...

He looked back at Helga and smiled, with that half-lidded gaze of adoration.

It sent tingles all along her spine upon seeing it. She smiled back weakly, feeling very much like she was dreaming. She inconspicuously reached her free hand behind her back, and pinched herself through the fabric of her dress. She winced in pain, but a wide smile soon followed. She wasn't dreaming!

They all exited the Packard, except for his grandfather, who drove the Packard around back to park further down the street, as the rest of them entered the restaurant.

So what if this place held unpleasant memories of past crushes being crushed. Now he was in love. He would make new memories for this place. New _better_ memories.

Arnold opened the door for Helga, which naturally then meant he had opened the door for EVERYONE. Not that he minded. He was glad to help them all out, but he still really wanted to be standing next to where Helga was.

Once everyone was in, Arnold walked in also, observing the inner look of the old restaurant. It was all very well lit, and had pastel yellow walls. The ceiling held a few chandeliers here and there to make the place look a bit more sophisticated. The floors were a warm, wooden brown and Arnold couldn't quite tell if they were real wood or fake. The tables seemed to match the floors as they were all warm, brown colors, and the chairs were classy with red plush stapled into the back and seat. It was an overall nice place.

Arnold saw that all the boarders and his grandmother were being seated, and trotted over to stand next to Helga to wait for them to be shown to their table.

"We're going to be having our own table." He informed her, still looking around the restaurant with his arms crossed over his chest.

Helga smiled at the idea of being alone with her beloved all night. "Okay," She replied simply, also observing the restaurant's decor, waiting to be seated.

The waiter came back to them after a few minutes and stood before them. "Please come with me." He turned around swiftly and walked off to show them to their table.

They followed after, Arnold's arms uncrossing and falling to his sides.

The man showed them to a table against a wall, but just beside a window that gave a lovely view of the fountain outside.

Arnold smiled and pulled out Helga's chair for her to sit in, which she did. He pushed her chair in, then walked over to his own chair and sat down, smiling at Helga.

"So... I invited you here to talk about some things." He began, leaning in across the table at her.

She frowned slightly and looked away. She knew where this was going. "Yeah, yeah. I know that, Arnoldo. What I don't know is what you want to talk about exactly." She lied.

His smiled dropped and he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You know what I want to talk about, Helga." He stated knowingly, staring across at her, a frown resting on his oblong head.

"Fine, so what if I do? You said the talk will come AFTER dinner, not during."

"That was before when you were coming to my house."

She huffed. "What if I'm not ready to have this little... _'talk'_?" She questioned, using air quotations around the word 'talk'.

His face became almost desperate as he sat there, looking at her. "Helga, this is something we really need to talk about, and I'm ready to talk about it now. I promise that the conversation will end on a positive note."

She laughed. "Arnold, everything ends on a positive note with you. But you don't have to tell me what you're trying to tell me, because I already know you have some silly-"

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

Helga frowned up at the waiter. "Weren't you supposed to ask that when you first seated us?"

"I was busy, madame."

Helga leaned across the table to Arnold. "Just so you know, this is the last time we come here." She whispered to him behind her hand.

He nodded slightly to her, then shifted his eyes back to the waiter. "I'll have a yahoo soda, please." He said politely, smiling up at the waiter.

Helga still frowned at the waiter, though. "I'll have the same. And bring mine with a little bendy straw!" She ordered, glaring lightly up at the waiter.

He nodded, choosing to ignore her look, and walked off to fetch their beverages.

Arnold saw Helga's look of displeasure and frowned a little. _'I have to make this better for her. She's not supposed to be upset like this...'_ He leaned across the table and took her hands in his, smiling softly at her.

She looked at him in surprise, then down at their joined hands.

He cleared his throat suddenly, causing her eyes to snap back up to his.

He looked at her softly and seriously, speaking gently, and stroking her hands sweetly with his own, "Helga, there's something I've been meaning in telling you. I really wanted to tell you sooner... but I wanted this to be special. 'Cause I think this is kinda an important moment for you." He smiled.

She sighed sadly, surprising him. She stared down at their hands for a moment, then took her hands back and looked him straight in the eye. "I know you have a crush on me, Arnold. But it wouldn't work, because I_ love _you, and having you just simply _like me like me _isn't going to cut it. But if you really do want to try loving me, we could work on turning your crush into love. If you'd be okay with that." She said, now looking down, afraid of his reaction.

He grabbed her hands back panicky, caressing them even more than before. "NO! Helga, I don't have a crush on you. I don't like you like you." He said in a rushed tone.

She looked back up at him, startled by both the contact returning so quickly, and his tone. Her expression became a cross between embarrassment and sorrow. "Oh... sorry." She said quietly, again looking down, only to be startled into looking back up at him by his tone.

"No, Helga I have to tell you... I really... I kind of... You're just so..." He groaned in frustration and looked her straight in the eye. "Helga..." He began, slowly, softly. "I'm in lo-"

Suddenly front doors of the restaurant were swung open violently, and several dingy, dirty men walked in, searching around the restaurant with their eyes. One looked over in their direction and suddenly pointed. "THERE! THERE!" He yelled to the other men.

They all ran to their table and grabbed Helga, slinging her over their shoulder.

"HELGA!" He shouted in alarm and protectiveness. He briskly stood up from his chair only to be pushed roughly down back into it.

Helga kicked and screamed, but they were too strong for her. They all scrambled to the door. They swung the door open, still moving fast, and Helga screamed one last time before disappearing out the door, along with the scroungy men, "ARNOLD!"

He ran after them panicky, only to see them all jump into a limo, then drive off at top speed.

"HELGA!" Arnold yelled one last time, although it was all in vain.

Several other men and a few women were outside beside behind him, as they were also trying to stop the kidnappers, though Arnold hadn't noticed in his panicked, rushing state. They all began talking amongst themselves at what had just taken place, as Arnold just stood there frozen.

His grandpa put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to help console him while Mr. Potts yelled into a payphone outside the restaurant to 911.

Arnold didn't feel or hear any of it. He just stared off into the direction of where the limo had faded off into, feeling completely numb...

He knew they shouldn't have eaten at Chez Pierre.

* * *

**A/N: *Hides behind table* Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry, but I had to do it! It was all too boring and I wanted this story to have a little more action in it. And please, do relax, Helga isn't going to die, Arnold isn't going to commit suicide, and there WILL be a happy ending. Just... not quite yet.,**

**No poisen reviews please. I know I'm a horrible, dream crushing human being, and I will punish myself thoroghly, I assure you. I'll make myself eat......... hummus. *Shudders violently* *Begins bawling* That stuff is so NASTY!**

**Anyway, *Gulps* there's a new poll on my profile page that I'd like you all to check out. It involves my other story, "Behind the Act". I think you'll all enjoy that. *Smiles***

**And... well... Always remember the golden rule, people. "Treat others the way you want to be treated." So unless you enjoy people bad mouthing you and your stories... Please, be kind, and...**

**Review!!!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: FRA! FRA! FRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!**

**Do you all know what THAT means...? :D**

**You don't? **

**Darn... I was hoping you would, 'cause I have no clue. *Shrugs* **

**Anyway, here's chapter fifteen to ze awesomness!!! Zere iz lots of sadness and revenge in this one... and we are nearing our closing. Wow! I can't believe how far this fic has come. It's pretty astounding to me. And I'm still not done. I don't know how long this is going to be, but I do know that I'm getting closer and closer to wrapping this up. But I hate how long it took me to write this chapter. Hopefully the next won't take so long.**

**So anyway, enough about my complaining and stupidity... LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!**

***Disco ball lowers from the ceiling, blinking multi-colored dance floor rotates under feet***

**OH YEAH! PARTY! To-Ga! To-Ga! To-Ga! **

**Disclaimer: Uh... I don't... own... Hey Arnold!... Uh... yeah...**

***Blinks* How'd Brainy get in here?**

**

* * *

****Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 15 **

Arnold sat on the couch in his living room, his brain still reeling and struggling to process everything that had just happened. One minute he's about to tell her of his feelings... the next minute she's being hauled off by some mysterious, foul smelling guys and thrown violently into a limo... then she was just... gone.

There had been people who had tried to stop them, him being the most desperate... but it was no use. Arnold was angry with every last one of them in that restaurant who didn't even bother to get up. He knew it was shocking... but they could have at least TRIED!

Arnold began breathing again, something he hadn't felt he was doing before. He blinked a couple times, then observed his surroundings. He couldn't quite remember when he had gotten home, or when the police came, or when he had dressed back into his regular clothes, or when his grandparents had left him there with two police man while they headed down to the station to tell them all they knew.

Arnold didn't understand it. Why? Why would someone kidnap her? What was their reason? He couldn't really think of anyone who wanted to get back at-...

Arnold's eyes flew open wide, and his mind was racing as he shouted in realization. "MR. MANTLE!"

Just then the phone rang, making him jump in surprise. He quickly ran to the phone. That was why he was here. To be here if anyone called. The police ran out of his kitchen, doughnuts in hand as soon as it rang.

Arnold stood in front of it, feeling uncertain and afraid it might be someone other than the kidnappers. The policeman gestured for him to pick it up, so he took a deep breath and did so.

"Hello?" He uttered nervously.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?!?!?!"

Arnold cringed at the yelling of Big Bob Pataki. "I'm sorry?"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO OLGA?!?!"

Something in Arnold seemed to snap it seemed, and he felt suppressed anger burst from him instantly. "Her name is HELGA! And since when do YOU care if she's alive or dead?! Why are you even calling?! The kidnappers could be-"

"KIDNAPPERS?!"

Arnold growled lowly. "Yes! Now stop YELLING! We were at the restaurant, and everything was fine, but then out of nowhere some random men came out of nowhere and dragged her off! I TRIED TO SAVE HER! But I couldn't! They were gone by the time I got out of the restaurant! There! There's your explanation! Are you HAPPY, Mr. Pataki?!"

Silence came on the other line, as Arnold was panting hard from his rage-fest, his free hand clenched at his side and his eyes narrowed. Suddenly a high-pitched squeal came from the other line.

"BABY SISTER!" Then came the sound of bawling... high-pitched, squeaky bawling. Arnold winced, and pulled the phone away from his ear, looking at the two policemen for some kind of guidance.

The tubbier of the two men just blinked, and nudged the other, taller and much skinnier cop forward. The cop glared at him, but took the phone from the boy, nonetheless. "Hello? Miss... Miss, are you okay?" He watched his partner wobble his way into the living room, and rolled his eyes a little despite his current situation.

"My... b-b-baby... sis-sister!" Came her response through gasps for air, and little squeaky sounds in between.

The cop's eyes grew wide, and he coughed awkwardly. "Yes... Well, your 'baby sister' was indeed kidnapped. This is officer Randall Cooper from the Hillwood police station, and we've been called to help you. Now, do you know of anyone who would've wanted to kidnap your... 'baby sister'?"

"I...I... NO!" She wailed, bawling harder.

Randall sighed, and decided to explain things a little better. "Yes, well... witnesses stated that she was picked up by about three to four men, and carried out of the restaurant, then thrown into a black lamborghini limo. Some witnesses claim it to have been the exact same as the mayors."

"I... I... WANT TO HELP!!!"

"Yes, well, I guess you could join one of our search parties." He offered nervously, smiling best he could through the phone.

The door suddenly fell open violently, and Big Bob Pataki marched in, dressed from head to toe in camouflage.

He grabbed the phone from Randall's hand and hung it up with an edge. "Oh, believe me... we will." He stated firmly, lowly, staring down the cop with his eyebrow narrowed slightly.

Arnold blinked, and took a bold step forward towards the camouflage man. "I'm going with you."

Bob turned to look at him, and raised one side of his eyebrow. "You? What possible reason could I have for bringing along some short, shrimpy kid like you?"

"Because I can help." Arnold stated firmly, his arms crossed ove his chest, and his face set in determination.

They stared eachother down, both unblinking and unmoving, before finally Bob growled lowly for a second, like a pouting child, and looked away. "Fine, fine. I guess you can come along. But... you can't get in the way. Got it, Shrimp?" He asked, poking his finger into the young boy's face.

Arnold didn't even flinch, continuing to stare at Bob through half-lidded, serious eyes. "Got it." He said simply, still looking him in the eye, unblinking.

Bob straightened up, and turned his attention to Randall, mainly to try and keep the fact that he was actually quite impressed (And annoyed for that very reason) with the small, bold boy hidden.

"EVERYONE! GET IN HERE, QUICK!" The other policeman yelled from the living room suddenly, and they could hear the faint sounds of the television and some flashes of light coming from the room's doorway and slightly illuminating the shadowed hallway.

They all raced in there immediately, and Randall came forward. "What is it, Bruce?"

He turned around excitedly, positively beaming. "We just won against the Red Socks!"

Everyones' anxious looks faded immediately.

Randall rolled his eyes and snatched the remote from his hand, switching it to the news instead.

_"In other news, local girl, Helga Pataki, was kidnapped right out of the restaurant, Chez Pierre, at precisely 6:37 PM. Witnesses say that three men ran into the restaurant, and grabbed her right out of her chair. Everyone was shocked when the men ran out and threw her into-"_

The news was suddenly cut off and was replaced with nothing but static.

"What the...?" Randall muttered, still holding the remote up a little towards the tv.

All of a sudden though, the static cleared and all that was seen was one man... a very familiar man with a perfect face now dressed up in a sleek, black suit with a gold tie, and his black hair slicked back with hair gel. A smirk was set across his features cunningly, and his arms were crossed over his chest. The backround was nothing but a dark red table cloth, though, so you couldn't quite see where he was.

Arnold took a step forward, staring at the man on the tv with wide, stunned eyes. "Mr. Mantle?" He uttered in a whisper.

"Wow! He's gorgeous!" Bruce exclaimed, but then noticed all the strange looks suddenly being directed at him. He looked away awkwardly, pulling at his collar. "Not that I'd know... or care or anything."

The man's voice on the television suddenly met all their ears, and they all eagerly welcomed the distraction from the recent awkward moment,_"Why hello, citizens of Hillwood. This is Mr. Mantle speaking. Or should I say... Mayor Mantle." _He snickered maniacally under his breath, and Arnold could feel his blood boil. He took another step forward, giving the television a stern, serious, and angry look. "I knew it." He stated lowly, glaring at the man on the tv. _'He's got something to do with Helga's kidnapping, I just know it.'_ He thought angrily.

_"You heard me right. I am now the mayor of this God Forsaken waste dump we call a city. The old mayor has unfortunately been a bit... tied up." _He snickered again, but quickly got himself under control and simply smirked evilly at the television. _"So I will be replacing him for... ever. Anyway, I would like to inform you all ahead of time that anyone who has a problem with me being the mayor now can take their complaints to my little friend right here."_ He pointed to a small remote with little yahoo soda caps as buttons, and everyone couldn't help but give confused looks at the screen. _"You see... I press this big, beautiful, red button here... and all of Hillwood goes kablooee. Don't believe me? Well, it's all a very complicated system, but what it basically means is... broken arms, legs, necks, deaths, property damage, car crashes, and a very happy, but disappointed me watching safely from the sidelines." _He listed off on his fingers.

Arnold suddenly felt the urge to bash the tv in, but he restrained himself to simply clenching his fists tight and glaring hatefully at the tv.

Mr. Mantle smirked cunningly at the screen, and then straightened his tie profoundly, then crossed his arms over his chest, resuming his smug smile. _"Now then, let's get down to business. As your new mayor, I will be setting a few new laws." _His smile broadened as he looked off screen, and held out his hand off camera. _"Francesca, would you kindly hand me my list?"_

A new, more feminine voice suddenly sounded from off camera, and Arnold couldn't help but find it familiar, _"Sure, Mayor, here you go." _A small, pale hand came onto the screen, and handed Mr. Mantle a scrolled up paper. He gave her a blank look, and then turned his attention back to the camera. He smiled, and then let a few fingers let go of the paper, allowing to unscroll, and a small thump could be heard, indicating that it had hit the ground due to it's length. He cleared his throat, hitting his chest with his fist, then gripped back onto the list. _"First: I'll be raising taxes by about eighty-five percent..."_

"That monster..." Big Bob growled, taking a step forward, his fists clenched, and his unibrow narrowed down dangerously as he prepared to crush the television, but the two cops held him back.

_"Let's see..." _Mr. Mantle looked closer to the list, squinting his eyes as he spoke, _"Sorry, my handwriting is a little sloppy here. Give me a moment."_

"Hey man,"

They all turned around slightly to see Gerald standing in the doorway, along with Phoebe.

"I came down here to see how your date went." Gerald explained, looking between the policemen and Big Bob curiously.

"Yes, and I couldn't find Helga at her house, so I thought she may have been here... considering the circumstances." Phoebe explained distractedly, also observing the policemen and Bob with questioning eyes.

Arnold frowned, and turned to them fully. "Helga isn't here." He informed them flatly without any emotion in his voice whatsoever.

Phoebe snapped her eyes to his then, and blinked, walking over towards him now with Gerald following by closely. "What do you mean? Where is she?" She blinked at him again, a concerned look beginning to color her features.

Arnold looked away, his eyes down-cast. "Gone." He said simply, quietly.

The sound of Mr. Mantle's voice suddenly coming from the television again snapped everyones' attention back to the screen. _"Uh, pool? Crool? Drool? Ah! School, that's it." _He cleared his throat.

Gerald raised an eyebrow. "What is Mr. Hypno doing on the-"

"Shhh," Everyone shushed him, except Phoebe, who looked just as confused as him. They both shared a bewildered look, and then turned their attention back to the tv.

_"School will now be everyday. That includes weekends, and it'll now be for twelve hours a day. You know, to keep the little buggers off the streets." _He laughed a little.

Phoebe's eyes widened, and she asked, to no one in particular, "Is he serious?"

"Uh, yes." Arnold answered a bit distractedly, as he was still staring at the tv.

Phoebe gawked, gasped, then suddenly snapped, shaking her tiny fists at the tv. "I dedicate approximately six hours a day studying! Not to mention the math club, all the extra credit, and tutoring! Don't I do enough?!" She attempted to pounce at the tv, but Gerald held her back by her arms as she struggled slightly.

The man continued, completely oblivious to the effect he was having on the small Asian girl, _"Also, oranges will be banned from now on... I'm allergic, you see."_

_"Um, excuse me, sir?" _A female voice intervened from off camera, and Arnold scrunched his eyes down in confusion. _'That voice...'_

_"Hmm? What is it, Fran? I really am busy here you know." _Mr. Mantle answered back rudely, narrowing his eyes at whoever was off camera.

_"Um, it's just... oranges? Don't you think that's a little unreasonable?"_

Mr. Mantle huffed, and narrowed his eyes slightly more at whoever was off camera. _"Do you think I care? You are the assistant. I am the mayor. You do not question me. Now off with you, Fran. Get back to your post."_

_"But, sir... I..." _Some quiet growls were heard, and then she stepped onto screen and grabbed the man by the collar roughly.

Everyone felt their eyes widen at seeing the girl. Her hair was a golden blonde, her eyes a fiery blue, and she was still in the same blue dress from before

Arnold took a step forward, his eyes wide. "H-Helga?"

She growled lowly, and pulled him down to her level roughly. _"Now you listen here, buddy boy. Don't you dare talk to me like that or I'll... I'll... I..." _Suddenly, she blinked, and let go of his collar, a confused look coloring her face as she put a hand to her head. _"What...?" _She blinked again, and then gasped at Mr. Mantle's slightly fearful expression and messed up collar. She began dusting him off quick and straightening his collar, speaking in a panicked voice, _"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. I don't know what came over me." _

He shook his head a little, gaining back some of his composure as he straightened his tie, looking down at the girl with squinted eyes. _"Yes, yes... now get back to work and don't bother me again."_

That old fire seemed to return to her eyes for a split-second, and then she blinked, and turned to the tv with an apologetic look. _"Sorry, everyone... I'll just go." _She walked off screen, a dejected look on her face.

Arnold took another step forward, and said quietly in a pleading voice, "No..." He blinked his eyes tight for a moment, and then shook his head, turning to everyone as Mr. Mantle continued rattling off his new laws. "So, what are we going to do to stop him?" He looked to the two cops.

They exchanged a look, and then looked back to him, and Randall answered, "What are we supposed to do? This is heavy stuff. He's apparently got some kind of weapon ready if we try anything. So what can we do other than... just go along with this? Besides, he's not making any laws that are _too _bad."

Phoebe gasped, and raised her voice slightly at him, "How can you say that? He just-" Gerald silenced her by covering her mouth with one hand, and grinning nervously up at the cop.

Mr. Mantle's voice could be heard in the backround, though they didn't really pay attention to what he was saying, _"And fourth, if anyone sees a hobo on the street, they will be required to give them all the money they have, and to get down on their hands and knees and kiss their feet..."_

Arnold gawked at the cop, and spread out his palms as he reasoned, "But we have to do something. He's trying to take over Hillwood."

"News Flash, kid. He already has." Bruce said, staring at him blankly.

Big Bob growled at the two cops, and then began heading towards the front door. "Forget this. Stinkin', no good cops. I'll go get her back myself."

Arnold came forward, and yelled after him as he exited his home, "Wait for me!" He turned to Gerald and Phoebe. "You guys coming? We could use all the help we could get. And it's for Helga." He looked at them hopefully.

They both stared at him for a moment, before Gerald cracked a smile and took a step forward. "Of course I'll help, man. How much harder could this be than saving the neighborhood?" He grinned and stepped a bit closer to him, as they did their "Handshake" as Arnold smiled back, then looked to Phoebe. "How about you, Phoebe?"

She blinked at them, but then took a step forward, her finger extended up as she spoke, "I'm not sure what help I'd be... and I'm still confused about what's going on, but I'll gladly help... especially if Helga is in danger." She smiled a little.

The two boys grinned at her, and then Arnold began bounding out of the house, gesturing for them to follow. "Come on, then. I'll explain on the way...

...We've got a city to save."

* * *

**A/N: *Raises eyebrow* Short, huh? Well, I updated, so no complaints. It's a freakin' miracle.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the chaos. I'm considering RE-editing the last chapter and re-posting... but it's such a pain. *Groans* Curse my laziness! It's ruinin' me! *Quirks mouth to one side* Stupid crap...**

**Anyway, I updated! HOLY CRAP! LOVE ME! *Grins brightly***

**Now, reward my efforts in finally updating and...**

**...REVIEW!!!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **_Hi-diddly-hi!_

_It has occurred to me that chapter one of this fic was written poorly and should be thrown into some toxic waste dump for experimentation... but that didn't stop whoever the heck that's reading this to read further and give this story a chance. I would like to thank everyone who made it this far. No, I ain't re-writing chapter one, because it is so bad, that it would take me a year, because it would need full reconstructive surgery, and frankly... I just don't have the patience. So there we are. I just wanted to thank you all for reading thus far in this fic, despite chapter one's crappiness. :D You all ROCK! *Waves hair around with air guitar*_

_So yeah, it took me about a half-hour to finally come to terms with how I'm going to be ending this fic, but I did it. So I now know how long this fic will be... well, I know what's going to happen next. No telling how long it'll take me to write it. But I know, confoundit! I KNOW! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ...HAHAHAHA! ...HA!_

_*Clears throat* Anyway, this may make it to about twenty chapters even, but I'm not sure. But I know how to end it! I do. So... at least I've got that goin' for me._

_So here's chapter... what? Sixteen? Yeah, I think that's right. Yeah, here it is. Read, mortals... I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO READ! *Raises axe* Yeah! You better run! *Runs after you*_

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own "Hey Arnold!", reader-chan. *Bows*_

**_Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing _**

**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 16**

Gerald yelped, sliding to one side of the seat and ramming right into Arnold. "How fast are we going?"

Phoebe squeaked as they turned a corner, causing Gerald and Arnold to slide across the seat and slam into her this time. "If my math skills are correct, based off of wind trajectory, how hard you're crushing me, and how terrified I am, we are going approximately eighty-two miles an hour!" She squeaked out in sheer fear, gripping onto the door handle so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

Bob revved the engine more, with a grin that only a man's car could put on his face, and the hummer picked up speed. "Eighty-three to be exact." He turned another corner, causing all the kids to slide across the seat again.

Gerald shook his head, his nails gripping into the leather seats. "Let me get this straight, okay? Mr. Hypno isn't really a hypnotist." He rolled his eyes. "Shocker. Already knew that. But you think he's got something to do with Helga's kidnapping?"

"No, Gerald. I _know_he's got something to do with it. You saw Helga up on the tv screen with him." Arnold corrected, as they turned another corner, and Gerald and Phoebe rammed into him. He grunted slightly in pain.

Gerald let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in, gripping at the seats again. "Okay, so he's got something to do with it. And you also think this because Mr. Hypno was acting really weird earlier today for no reason at all?"

"Ye-EEEEEEEEEEEES!" The ending came out as a yell, as they all slid across the seat again, and rammed into Phoebe.

Gerald sighed, scooting away from Phoebe a bit in blushing discomfort. He cleared his throat. "Alright. So we know he's got something to do with it... and we also know that he's got some kind of weapon ready if anyone tries to stop him from ruling over Hillwood as the new mayor."

"Right." Arnold nodded slightly.

"Well, come on, man! What if he's bluffing? I mean, he isn't exactly the smartest guy around." He gave him a smirk, thinking back to all of Mr. Mantle's kiddie books on hypnotism. He snickered. "Hey, for all we know, he picked up some three-year-old book on how to be 'evil'." Gerald grinned humorously just at the idea.

"On the contrary, Gerald. He's quite intelligent. He spent all his life as a con-man. He's a born actor." Phoebe interjected.

Gerald looked over at her. "You're only proving my point more, Phoebe. What if he's lying? He's done it all his life. I'm willin' to bet that he doesn't really have a weap-ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!" He screeched out the ending, as they suddenly came to an abrupt stop, and they all swung back and hit their heads against the back of their seats.

"Sorry, red light." Bob grunted back to them, his fingers tapping impatiently against the wheel.

They all let out quiet groans, rubbing their heads.

Arnold sighed, finally letting his hand drop from his head. "Maybe, Gerald. But can we really take that risk? I think we should just stick to the basic plan of action here."

Both Gerald and Phoebe looked over at him curiously, and Gerald asked, "Okay, what's that?"

"Get Helga, foil his plan, and get out." He said simply, crossing his arms over his chest.

They both blinked at him, and Phoebe spoke then, "But Arnold, don't you understand the danger here? If Mr. Hypno-"

"Mantle. He gets mad when you call him 'Hypno' now." Arnold corrected, looking over at her.

"Okay, if Mr. Mantle does indeed have some kind of super weapon, then the whole city could be in danger. I think we should come up with a more detailed plan. Something full proof. We need to really think this through."

Arnold nodded then. "Okay, but first things first, we need to get there and find a way in. It's not like we have too much to really go on to come up with a plan to save the city."

"_Ohhhhhhhhh_ no." Bob interjected then, just beginning to listen in at their conversation, and turning in his seat to look at them. "We are getting Helga, and getting out. No skin off my back or yours." He pointed at them sternly, with a serious expression.

"But Mr. Pataki," Phoebe reasoned, "don't you care that all of Hillwood is in danger? We have to-"

"No." He growled, turning back around in his seat. "I'm only going to get my daughter back. If you kids want to go kill yourselves, then fine, whatever. But I'm not going to do anything but get my kid, and get out."

"But, Sir," Arnold reasoned, "I know that Helga is really your only concern here, and I understand that, but it would probably benefit us greatly if you'd come along and help."

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"How about if-"

"No."

"B-"

"No."

Arnold sighed heavily in exasperation, sitting back in his seat._ 'I guess now I know where Helga got her stubborn nature from.'_He couldn't help but think in the back of his mind in dry amusement. Gerald hesitated, but then decided to go for it. He leaned up in his seat, and put a hand on Bob's shoulder, causing him to tense slightly and give the boy an annoyed look. Gerald just looked at him seriously. "Now Mr. Pataki, don't you understand? Taxes are going to be increased, which means _you'll_ be losing _money_. Now if we can stop him, then that won't happen. You get what I'm saying?" He raised an eyebrow with a smooth smile spreading across his dark features.

Bob stared at him a moment, all traces of annoyance gone from his eyes. He then looked forward, silent determination gleaming in his eyes, and stomped on the gas pedal hard with his combat boot clad foot, causing Gerald to be slung back into his seat from the force of their sudden moving, especially at top speed. "Let's go save Hillwood!" Bob exclaimed with a determined scowl, turning another corner.

Arnold and Gerald both slid across the seat, ramming into Phoebe again.

This was going to be a _long_ car ride.

**__****_Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing _**

Edward leaned over against the wall with a smooth smile, now wearing a nice suit, though he decided against taking a bath, so he still smelled bad, and his hair was less than nice looking. "So... Rebbecca, we meet again." He said in the deepest voice he could muster, slow and smooth.

She didn't respond, so he just continued, "Funny seeing you here. How long has it been?" He chuckled slightly. "It seems like only yesterday we were at the Senior Prom together. Me in my handsome black suit, and you in your flashy, green sequin dress. If memory serves, it only went to about your knees, didn't it?" He smiled at her again, his eyes half-lidded. "I always liked you in that dress. Do you still have it?"

She didn't respond once again, so he feigned hurt. "Not in the mood for talking, eh?" His mood lifted, and he smiled at her again. "That's okay. I guess we both know by now that I'm more of a talker, aren't I?" He laughed deeply, tilting his head at her. "So, my fair lady, do you like smooth jazz?"

"Edward, what are you doing?" Mr. Mantle cut in, walking into the room with an eyebrow raised.

Edward flushed instantly, and slicked his hair back in nervousness, turning to the smartly dressed man in the doorway. "Oh, uh..."

Rebbecca, the receptionist, rolled her eyes. Her hands tied behind her back and her mouth duck-taped as she just sat in the chair, her feet also restrained by a rope.

Mr. Mantle looked between the two, before crossing his arms over his chest and giving the poor, flustered man a dry look. "Really, Edward? What did I say about flirting with the hostages?"

Edward let out a deep breath, his palm now covering his eyes. "I know, I know." He withdrew the hand from his face. "Was there something you needed?"

Mr. Mantle sighed a little, and walked over to grab the man by his arm, and drag him out of the room. Once out, Mr. Mantle turned to him with a quick eye roll, before continuing with his reason for finding the man. "I was just looking for you. I need you to keep an eye on our receptionist."

"What?" Edward exclaimed in alarm. "But I was just-"

"Not THAT receptionist. Our new one... Well, I guess she's more of an assistant." He considered, before shaking his head to get back to the matter at hand. "Look, she's out in the reception hall, and although I do have some guys guarding by the door, I'd like to know that she's thoroughly looked after. Got it?"

Edward grinned, straightening up a little. "Sure, chief. You can count on me!"

**__****_Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing _**

A phlegmy snore erupted from Edward's mouth, as his head was slung back in the chair and his feet were resting comfortably on the pile of magazines on the coffee table in the reception hall. Fran was currently sitting at the desk, looking a bit bored as there wasn't much to do. She nearly yawned herself from all the sounds of snoring, as it was a bit late, but she forced it down, knowing that if she gave in to the yawn, she'd soon have to give in to sleep too. And she knew she couldn't do that.

After all, she didn't want to get fired.

Still... she was pretty bored, and no one was calling (Though she didn't notice that the phones were unplugged), so she decided that a break would be in order.

She stood up from her chair, trying not to attract too much attention to herself as she made a break for the break room. The only noises heard being from her shoes lightly clacking against the floor and Edward's loud snores coming from across the room.

**__****_Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing _**

The hummer screeched to a halt in the front of the building, where several different police cars now resided with many policeman standing around the building now surrounded by police tape to keep the citizens back away at a safe distance.

All the kids got out of the car, and Gerald instantly fell to the ground, kissing at the pavement happily. "YES! Firm ground!" He exclaimed, trying without success to wrap the concrete up into an embrace of sorts.

Phoebe just stumbled a bit, trying to gain her bearings, as Arnold just took in their surroundings. Flashing blue and red lights from the police cars flooded his vision a bit, along with countless concerned citizens chattering about what was taking place.

Bob began towards one of the police man, and Arnold instantly began after him.

Bob grabbed one of the police man by his shoulder and turned him to face him. He gave him a stern, serious expression. "Any news?"

"Um..." The police man began, not sure who this guy was. He was new to the force, and his brown hair was ruffled from running his hands through it periodically from stress and nerves. He lowered his sun glasses to get a better look at the man, and had to gulp at the serious look on his face, like if he made any sudden movements he'd kick his butt. He composed himself after a moment though, remembering that he was the cop here. "I-I'm sorry to report that nothing interesting has occurred for at least twenty minutes now. Who are you?"

"The father of one of the hostages in that building."

The new recruit stared at him. "O-Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I need entrance into that building."

He gaped at the man. "Huh?"

"I need entrance into that building. Now."

The cop blinked a few times, and then finally spoke. "Sir, I'm afraid I can't allow you to-"

"_I said, I need entrance into that building_." Bob sneered, gripping to his shoulder harder.

He winced in pain. "S-Sir, now please understa-"

"I NEED ENTERANCE INTO THAT-"

"Um, Mr. Pataki?" Arnold interrupted boldly from beside him.

Bob snapped his head to the boy, and gritted his teeth in anger with his unibrow lowered dangerously.

Arnold simply looked up at him calmly. "Could I talk to him?"

Bob looked at him strangely, but then looked between him and the cop, before roughly letting go of the police man's shoulder and turning away and walking back towards the car, grumbling to himself.

Arnold just watched him go for a moment, before turning to the cop with a small, reassuring smile. "Sorry about all that."

The cop just rubbed his shoulder in pain, and offered the small boy a smile. "And I'm sorry that I can't let you go into that building. It's too dangerous for civilians."

Arnold smiled still. "I know why you don't want us to go in, and I understand. But I think what Mr. Pataki was trying to say was, that we think we can help. Me and my friends over there," He motioned to Gerald and Phoebe, both now watching from the car still. "know Mr. Mantle personally. We think we might be able to reason with him if you just let us go in."

The cop stared down at him unsurely. "I don't know..."

"Please, sir? We know we can help, if you just give us clearance into that building."

He stared at him one more moment, before sighing, and rubbing his shoulder a little harder. "Well, even if I did let you go in, there are guards on the inside of the door. So I don't know how-"

"Sir, please? Give us a chance." He made his eyes real big unintentionally, pleading up at the uniformed man.

He stared down at him, seeing how sad he looked, before sighing and lifting up the police tape for him. "You can sneak around back. There are guards there too, but if you think you can get in, be my guest. I don't exactly have the best clearance here myself. I'm new. But I'll let you in. Just be careful, okay?"

Arnold grinned at him, motioning to his friends to come over with him, and nodded to the cop. "Thank you! We'll be sure to be very cautious."

**__****_Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing _**

Bob kicked the door open, and the two guards there gasped, just beginning to hold their guns up before-

_CLUNK_

Bob smirked down at their unconscious forms, seeing as he'd grabbed them by their heads and clunked them together. He picked up their guns, and put the safety on, before sticking them both into his belt safely.

Arnold, Gerald, and Phoebe all walked in then, seeing that they'd just walked into a storage room it seemed. Nothing but old chairs and boxes, filing cabinets and loose files laying about. Even a few old desks were up against the walls without a chair or computer to match.

Bob looked around, before finally spying a door at the other end of the room. He walked towards it, as the kids all followed behind.

Bob opened up the door quietly, seeing as no one seemed to be in the hall at the moment. He picked one of the guns out of his pocket, and held the point down to the ground as he took his first step out into the hall.

A man standing at the end of the hall snapped his head to him, walking towards him immediately. "HEY! What are you-"

Bob's hand flew up and he pulled the trigger, shooting the man right in the torso. The man stumbled, before falling to the ground.

Phoebe gasped, and Gerald and Arnold simply gaped in shock.

"You killed him?" Arnold finally asked in alarm.

Bob smirked at them in amusement, holding the gun up for them to see. "No, it's a tranquilizer. He's just unconscious. Should be out for a good while now, but I don't want to take any chances." He walked up the unconscious man, and slung him over his shoulder. He walked back over to the door they'd just exitted, and opened it up to sling the man in before dusting his hands off and shutting the door once again and turning to the three ten-year-olds. "Now let's get moving again."

They all nodded, just recovering from their terrorized shock.

The four wandered through the halls for a good while, shooting out hobos that got in their way, before Bob finally opened up a door slowly and inconspicuously, just in case, to find a coffee machine, and a table with some chairs sitting around it, looking to be a break room of some sort. But what caught his attention was exactly _who_ was sitting at the table, a donut in hand, and a satisfied look on her face as she sipped her coffee.

He instantly flew forward into the room, and picked up his daughter in a hug. "Oh, thank goodness, Olga! You're okay!"

She gasped in shock at being picked up, and struggled desperately. "Hey, hey! Put me down! Put me down!"

Bob put her back into her chair then, and smiled, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Phew! I was so worried."

She eyed the tall man wearily, not sure what to think of what he was saying. "Uh, yeah, so who-"

"Helga!" Phoebe flew in, embracing her long time best friend in a hug. "You're okay!"

She gawked at the small girl, not sure what to think of her sudden hugging. "Uh..."

Gerald stood by the door, smiling that she was okay, as Arnold finally walked in to see Phoebe just letting go of Helga. He let out a breath of relief, and ran at her, grabbing her in a firm hug. Phoebe giggled, and begin ushering everyone out from the room, convincing them that they needed a moment. Despite Bob's firm 'no' to leaving, she managed to convince him otherwise by saying that someone needed to be watching the door to make sure nobody caught them. So with that, they all were out the door in a matter of moments, as Arnold was simply hugging the blonde girl seated in the chair with an oblivious smile on his face.

Her heart beat picked up a little, staring down at the slightly shorter boy as he embraced her. She blinked. "Wh-"

"Oh, Helga, thank goodness! For a while there I thought we might have lost you!" He hugged her firmer.

She wrinkled her brow in confusion, and attempted to pry the boy off of her. She managed to pry him off enough to where she could look at his face, and he just smiled at her. She blinked at him, with an almost amused smile on her face. "You know, you've got a football shaped head."

Arnold blinked, but then couldn't help the slight chuckle that escaped him. "Thanks for the update, Helga."

She raised one side of her eyebrow at the name, but before she could speak again, lips were suddenly up against her cheek. Her eyes widened and she pushed him off immediately then, wiping off her cheek in disgust. "Ugh, what the heck was that for?"

Arnold stumbled back when she pushed him, and he stared at her wide-eyed for a moment before remembering that she wasn't technically 'Helga' right now. He deflated slightly, before shaking his head. He smiled a bit sheepishly. "Sorry, Hel-"

"Will you stop calling me 'Helga', please! Do I have to call security on you?" She asked, her hand already going up under the table where a little red button was that would signal security.

Arnold's eyes widened. "No! Please, we're here to help you."

"Help me?" She scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him. "You're gonna get me fired."

Arnold sighed a little in frustration before walking over to her and taking her hand. She instantly snapped it back, out of his grasp, and growled. "Look, normally I'm a very reasonable person. But this is just-"

"Look, Hel-..." He paused, before shaking his head and continuing, "Whatever you think your name is, it's not safe here. We need to get you out of here."

Helga narrowed her eyes at him a bit more. "Little boy, I don't have time for-"

"Helga-"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" She exploded, her arms going up in the air. She approached him then furiously, and he began backing up as she did. "Look, I don't know WHO you are, or WHAT you're doing here, but you're gonna cause me to lose my job, and I can tell you NOW, that if that happens, I am GOING TO-"

Arnold's back had hit the wall at this point, and he gaped in horror at her still approaching, and the words coming from her mouth. She was making a move to hurt him, he knew, and she was just about say exactly what she'd be doing. But Helga would never hurt him, right? Of course not... but this wasn't Helga. But it WAS technically. She just didn't know she was. But she was still Helga, and Helga was crazy in love with him. With this thought in mind, he did the only thing he could think to do to settle her down. He took a deep breath, took a step forward to her, and crashed his lips to her's.

She stopped right there in pure shock, and he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist so she couldn't get away. He shut his eyes as tight as he could, and stayed like that, hoping beyond hope this would work.

After a few moments, she finally snapped out of her shock and seemed to be making a move to push him off of her. Her hands went to his shoulders, applying some pressure before she felt her knees suddenly go weak and her stomach practically invert. Her pupils went large and all these added feelings only caused her to push harder, scared of what was happening, but he held fast. Finally, after a few moments of struggle, she felt her arms turn to jelly and fall limp at her sides. She stood there then, just allowing him to kiss her without protest.

Arnold felt her go limp in his arms, and let out a sigh of relief through his nose. Soon she was practically melting into his form and he allowed himself to loosen his grip on her. Finally, after a few moments of hesitation, he slowly unwrapped his arms from around her and took a step back, his breathing hard. He looked at her, seeing that she was just standing there, looking at him with a dazed expression. "Wow..." She giggled, moving up alongside him as he panted. "What's your name again?" She played with some of his hair.

He smiled through his pants. "Arnold."

"_Arnold_..." She sighed blissfully, stroking his hair back.

He almost laughed, but his amusement was cut short by the door suddenly swinging open and a very annoyed Big Bob standing in the doorway. "I'm tired of waiting already! What could you kids possibly be doing in here?" He looked between the two kids, and raised one side of his eyebrow suspiciously, eyeing Arnold over. "And why are your lips sparkly?"

Arnold blushed, his eyes widening. "Uh..."

Helga giggled again, withdrawing her hands from his hair and putting them behind her back. "No reason..." She swayed from side to side for a moment, a girlish smile on her face.

Bob squinted his eyes at them. "Okay..." He said slowly, before clearing his throat. "Anyway, we've got to get moving."

Arnold nodded, his breathing finally fully normal. He glanced at Helga, who still had that happy grin on her face. He held his hand out to her, offering a smile. "So will you come with us?"

She blinked, looking at Bob in the doorway before returning her gaze to him. "I'd follow you anywhere after THAT." She said quietly to him, slipping her hand into his.

Arnold blushed heavily, avoiding eye contact with both Patakis now.

Bob scowled slightly. "Yeah, whatever. Let's just get out of here."

**__****_Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing Helga ~ Hypnotizing _**

**A/N: **_Alright, I may need to start doing my A/N's like this, so that it looks more neat next to my new dividers there. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I don't really have much to say. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Kinda sloppy, if you ask me, but whatever. Uh... _

_**REVIEW!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Hola! :D

No need for explanation. I'll write more in my final A/N here, but for now, just read! Read the deliciousness! :D :D :D

**Disclaimer: **I want fish sticks so bad right now! D: Curse my Icelandic heritage! FISH STICKS! *Cries* ...Oh, and I don't own "Hey Arnold!" *Shrugs* Now back to my lunch plans.

**_

* * *

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**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 17**

Phoebe and Gerald walked next to each other in the hall. Big Bob was in front of them, walking down the halls with a gun in hand, ready for anything. Honestly, they were too afraid of Big Bob with a gun to really get any closer than they were now.

The occasional quiet giggle would come from behind them, and Gerald would just smirk as Phoebe would simply giggle a little herself knowingly. Arnold was walking a little ways behind them, and Helga just wouldn't leave him be. Not that he was complaining, but they were on a mission... but then again, he wasn't really doing anything. They were just scouting the halls, looking for a way to get Helga out safely so they could get on with their mission. So what did it hurt really? His sanity. That was being hurt quite a bit. He really had to quit getting so involved with Helga when she was hypnotized. He knew once she snapped out of it she wouldn't remember a lick of it, but he didn't really like thinking about all that. Besides, he couldn't control what she was doing. It was all her, and that only drove him even crazier.

Gerald snickered, hearing another giggle sound in from behind them, and he snuck a glance back at the pair to see what was going on.

Helga was leaning on him still, no surprise there, and she seemed to be whispering things into his ear quite a bit. Arnold just had a strange look on his face. He seemed to be trying pretty hard to ignore her, but it didn't look like he was doing it very well. His face looked like a cross between very serious, and dazed and lovesick, which when looking at straight on, was extremely weird. His eyes were half-lidded, and a small smile kept flickering on and off his face, and his eyes were glowing, though the glow would dim every few seconds before coming back full strength. Gerald just gave him a sympathetic look, to which Arnold just closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths. Poor guy. But at least he seemed to be getting better at controlling himself.

This entire experience really must have been hard on Arnold so far. At first, he didn't even know there was anything wrong with Helga. Gerald wasn't sure what he was thinking exactly at that time, but he knew that if he noticed that Helga was acting different or not, he either didn't care or was ignoring it for whatever reason. But whatever the reason, Arnold didn't show any real signs of thinking Helga's behavior as all that strange, or at least... not to Gerald. But really, realizing you love a girl deeply, and THEN finding out that she was actually hypnotized the entire time she was spending time with you and at the time of your realization? Gerald was surprised he didn't lose it right then. But then again, Arnold was very level headed and understanding. It was probably a massive relief to find out that she was hypnotized into being her 'true self,' or whatever. Gerald really didn't care too much. The 'new', nicer Helga was giving him the creeps, to be honest. But for Arnold it seemed to be the opposite. But of course, after finding out she was hypnotized the whole time, and then getting her un-hypnotized and having to explain everything that had went on in the past while, and THEN having said girl torment him with all her 'charms' before he was even prepared to spill his guts, before a bunch of random dudes blew in and dragged her off right before the words even left his lips. And NOW having that same girl be hypnotized into thinking she was a completely different person, and not remembering ANYTHING about him or their past, and flirting with him nonstop. That _really_ had to suck.

It was kind of like teasing him with that chocolate chip cookie he desperately wanted but couldn't have until he ate all his brussel sprouts. Fate just wasn't on poor Arnold's side at all lately. Gerald didn't know why either. It wasn't like Arnold had any real karma to deal with. The boy nearly died of guilt after forgetting to hold the door open for a couple of girls a few weeks ago. He was a real gentleman, he _never_ did anything wrong intentionally, or at least not without wallowing in guilt for days on end and the never ending apologies. So why the heck fate was torturing him was way beyond Gerald's comprehension. Perhaps it was because he'd kept poor Helga waiting so long after her confession just because he was afraid and didn't want to deal with any awkward moments? It was the only thing Gerald could think of. But it seemed his fear wasn't irrational, because clearly giving in and talking about it may not have been the best strategic movement at the time, because now he was definitely paying for it. At least he was able to get a taste of what it must have been like for Helga all those years...

_'Ooooh, better keep that one on the down low. We don't need Arnold fighting back insanity AND feeling guilty over things he couldn't control_.' Gerald thought, watching Arnold gulp a little, his eyes wearily glued to Helga, as she laughed quietly at his more than obvious blush, before turning back around and facing Bob's back. Though he realized after a moment of confusion, that his back was much closer than it was before. Gerald blinked, noticing a slightly tense and purely panicked look on Phoebe's face, before slowly looking around the large (And slightly swaying now, he noticed) form of Big Bob Pataki and coming to see...

"Nobody move!"

Gerald gasped, seeing the hobo at the end of the hall, shakily holding onto a tranquilizer gun with panicked and almost terrified eyes. And in this position, it was then that he noticed that Bob had a really goofy, dizzy look on his face, and that he was swaying much more noticably now. Gerald gawked, watching as Bob tumbled over finally into unconsciousness, and it was then that he came to see the tranquilizer dart lodged into his right arm, which just happened to be the same arm that was holding the gun still. Either that hobo had really good aim, or he just got really lucky (And judging by how much his hands were trembling, he figured it was most likely the latter).

Gerald gulped slightly, looking over at an equally unsure and nervous Phoebe. He shifted his eyes around for just a moment, seeing that Arnold and Helga both had wide eyes too, and were staring straight at the hobo. Seeing Gerald's gaze, though, Arnold's wide eyes shifted to his a moment, and they both exchanged a worried look before Gerald snapped his head back around to look at the slightly shaking man at the end of the hall.

All three (Gerald, Arnold, and Phoebe) contemplated simply making a run for it right then, but Helga suddenly letting go of Arnold's arm and taking a step forward towards the man made everyone freeze in their spot.

Helga smiled only slightly at the man, her hands behind her back and an exasperated look in her eyes. "Look, pal, they're with me. I'm the receptionist working here. There's nothing to worry about."

"Helga..." Arnold whispered loudly to her, not liking the position she was putting them in.

Helga turned to him for a moment, her eyebrow narrowed into one of her famous scowls. "Fran, you dolt. If we're going to date, then you're going to have to get it RIGHT." She hissed to him, surprising herself with just how irritated she felt and sounded. She HATED it when people got her name wrong, and for some reason having this football headed boy in particular get it wrong only irritated her further.

At the word 'date,' Arnold blushed, though he was trying to mask his embarrassment under a stern look at her, still feeling the need to get her to come back over to him where she'd be safe from gun-fire. Even if it was just a tranquilizer, he didn't want her getting hurt in _any_ way. And he felt that in this point in the game he really should be given a break. He'd been through a LOT in the past few days.

Helga just huffed at his 'stern' look and turned back to the guard at the end of the hall, deciding on ignoring Arnold for now, and tried to smile again at the still slightly shaking guard. "Look, sir, like I was saying, I work here, and they're with me. I was just going to go out for a few minutes for a quick breather. No harm done. So if you don't mind..." She took a step towards him, holding her hand out like she was about to try and take the gun away...

But the hobo panicked and quickly pulled the trigger at her, shooting a dart right into her shoulder. Helga froze in her actions, her head darting down to look at the tranquilizer dart now stuck in her shoulder. She hissed at the stinging feeling residing there now, and fell to her knees, groaning slightly as the drugs started to fully take her over.

Arnold's eyes widened in horror, and he was on his knees beside her in an instant, an arm around her shoulders and trying to help her sit up. But all that happened was that she moaned again before falling completely against him and into unconsciousness. Arnold held onto her tightly, a very worried look now coloring his face.

Gerald just exchanged a look with Phoebe after that, and were just about to quickly run at the guard and hopefully be able to tackle him to the ground before he shot them, when even more guards suddenly came onto the scene, all with tranquilizer guns of their own. They all ran at them, grabbing the children by their shoulders and arms.

One of the guards tried to grab Arnold up from the ground but he held onto Helga firmly, refusing to let her go. Eventually they were able to get him up, but only ended up with Arnold pulling Helga up with him. Realizing they were caught and nothing could be done about it, Arnold sighed and, still refusing to let go of his love, picked her up completely in 'bridal style' and allowed the guards to lead him down the hall by his shoulder, while most of the rest of the guards struggled with pulling an unconscious and extremely meaty Big Bob Pataki after them.

* * *

"Law Number Eighty-Six: Due to my once life scarring dream of radishes taking over the world and eating my brain, any and all radishes will be banned from Hillwood now also. So that's-"

The sudden anguished cry (Sounding like a young boy) coming from nowhere startled Mr. Mantle for a moment and he blinked, rubbing his ear slightly, thinking he might be hearing things. (A/N: Remember the episode where Arnold helped Chocolate Boy come off of Chocolate...? And he did so by substituting chocolate with radishes? Yeah, then there ya go. ;)) After a moment, he disregarded the strange cry and went on with his demands with a sheepish smile and clear of his throat. "Sorry about that. Anyway, so that's radishes banned, along with oranges, limes, gold fish, any and all caffeinated drinks, and coconuts. Moving on, I will also be-"

The door to the mayor's office, where he was shooting from, suddenly opened up and Mr. Mantle blinked, turning around to see some guards all standing in the doorway holding onto the strange boy with the large stack of hair, the nice little Asian girl, and the football headed kid holding a very misleadingly sweet smiling little blonde girl in his arms that he knew to be the pigtailed brat that got him into this mess. He growled slightly, switching off his live shooting for a moment to address the guards. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

The hobo holding onto Arnold's shoulder answered, "We found these rascals trying to vacate the building with Franny in tow."

Mr. Mantle frowned, his eyebrows narrowed at the group of kids. "You don't say... Well, that just won't do now will it?" He sneered. He grabbed Helga out of Arnold's clutching arms roughly and walked back over to where he was shooting, Helga now clutched in his arms.

"No!" Arnold attempted to lunge after him, but the hobo that was still holding onto his shoulder held him back and tightened his grip on the young boy. Arnold desperately tried to get out of his hold, though it was in vain.

As Arnold tried again and again to escape the larger man's hold on him, Mr. Mantle, with Helga now held in one arm, clicked a button on the camera to turn it back onto his live feed. He scowled angrily at the screen, making sure Helga's face was seen. "See this?" He shook the unconscious Helga slightly. "THIS is why I'm doing this! THIS RIGHT here!" He shook Helga a bit more roughly.

Arnold lurched forward, and Phoebe struggled slightly too against her bonds, and after a moment of seeing the two doing this Gerald joined in. The men, all realizing this wasn't working very well, all dragged the kids over to the corner of the room and began tying them all up. Arnold was first, since he was the one fighting the hardest, but since he was squirming so hard it took a good minute. Finally, he was tied up, and they sat him in the seat right beside the quite defeated looking mayor, also tied up with duck tape taped across his mouth.

As this was taking place, Mr. Mantle only continued in his angry announcement over the television. "You see, I'm a con-man. I con people into paying me money for doing jobs I'm not skilled at in the least. I've done it my WHOLE life and there's never been a problem before! NEVER! So as you can imagine, suddenly getting ratted out by this little brat, after I so graciously de-hypnotized her sorry butt, was very unnerving. I've been homeless ever since!" He yelled, failing to mention that he'd only really been homeless for several hours. "I lost EVERYTHING! And it's all because of THIS!" He shook her again.

Arnold growled behind the duck tape on his mouth, and a now tied up Phoebe and Gerald both joined him and began making loud noises, hoping to somehow make their voices identifiable on the TV so their parents could come down and maybe help them. Though they knew Arnold's reason for making such a racket was just because the mad man was hurting the girl he loved.

Fred, the old martial arts black belt, seeing Mr. Mantle so angry and shaking a poor defenseless girl, with three other children all wriggling about in bonds on the other end of the room, finally decided enough was enough. A determined and slightly angered look on his face, he slipped as inconspicuously as possible from the room...

Meanwhile, Mr. Mantle continued to have his mental breakdown on live television. "This little girl is the reason I'm doing all this! THIS is why the peaceful city of Hillwood is suddenly being threatened by a bunch of homeless people. So anyone out there looking to blame someone for this catastrophe, blame THIS!" He shook her one last time at the camera, before throwing her unconscious body as best he could to one of the guards across the room. "Here. Tie her up, don't want her causing a ruckus once she wakes up."

Gaining back his composure, Mr. Mantle took a deep breath and smoothed out his hair with one hand and straightened his tie with the other. Once he was finished with this, he picked up his list of new laws from before, and held them back up to his face, beginning to list out the laws once again. "Anyway, before I was interrupted, I believe I was listing out the new laws, wasn't I? Well, onto law number eighty-seven: No one is ever allowed to wear pigtails ever again."

Arnold struggled to get out of his bonds, though he should have known it was in vain, he couldn't stop trying. He was determined to get out of this mess, one way or another. And as soon as he was free of those ropes, the first thing on his agenda was to pulverize Mr. Mantle for handling Helga in such a manner.

'_Never again.._.' He vowed mentally, growling viciously at Mr. Mantle, who simply ignored him.

* * *

Back at Mr. Simmons' house...

Mr. Robert Simmons whistled happily as he walked out of his bathroom, his hair wet and a towel held around his waist, the steam of the shower still escaping slightly from the bottom of the door.

He carelessly picked up the remote of his television and clicked it on, walking over to his vanity on the other end of his bedroom so he could find himself some clothes to dress into.

He was only half-aware of what was blaring from his television across the room...

_"You see, I'm a con-man. I con people into paying me money for doing jobs I'm not skilled at in the least. I've done it my WHOLE life and there's never been a problem before! NEVER! So as you can imagine, suddenly getting ratted out by this little brat, after I so graciously de-hypnotized her sorry butt, was very unnerving. I've been homeless ever since! I lost EVERYTHING! And it's all because of THIS!"_ A man with a very familiar sounding voice yelled from his small television box.

Mr. Simmons head perked up, just finished in pulling his pants up as he looked over at the television curiously. He knew that he usually always had his television turned to the news, so hearing something so dramatic and intense sounded kind of off to him. But seeing the man he'd hired some days ago to talk to his children about hypnotism, his eyes went huge and he quickly zipped up his pants and ran over to the television to see what exactly was going on.

"_This little girl is the reason I'm doing all this! THIS is why the peaceful city of Hillwood is suddenly being threatened by a bunch of homeless people. So anyone out there looking to blame someone for this catastrophe, blame THIS!_" The delirious man shook the girl again, and after only a glance Mr. Simmons knew immediately that the unconscious looking girl he was shaking was his very special student, Helga. His eyes grew even wider and he gasped, running over to grab his shirt and sweater vest to put on quickly. "Oh dear." The second his vest was over his head, he was out the door in a matter of seconds.

After about a minute, he suddenly ran through the door again and grabbed his shoes, putting them on in his haste and then running back out the door again, remembering to grab his car keys on the way out this time also.

* * *

After about a half-hour of Mr. Mantle rattling off his new laws, Helga finally began to come-to. Her eyes fluttered open, and she wondered briefly why she was in such an uncomfortable position. She attempted to stretch and yawn... and that was when she realized she was tied up in ropes and that there was duck tape over her mouth. Her eyes went wide and she began struggling in panic, freaked out and scared of what might be happening to her.

Memories clouded her mind then, though, and her heart began pounding furiously in anger and nerves, and her unibrow narrowed into a scowl...

***Flashback***

_Helga sat on the couch in the Mayor's office, with possibly the deepest and most genuinely nasty scowl she'd ever had on her face. There were two smelly men sitting on either side of her, holding her down in her seat to make sure she wouldn't try to run away or anything. Mr. Mantle was pacing in front of her, and with each step he took and each breath he took Helga's scowl got even meaner. She'd just been in the middle of a VERY important conversation with Arnold when this stupid toilet-smelling buffoon's 'henchman' swooped in and carried her screaming out of the place. She'd never been so terrified in her life at the time... but now that it was all over, and she found out that the entire reason she was being kidnapped was over this moroon, she'd never felt so angry in her life. The rage boiling and practically convulsing through her was indescribable. She was so furious she couldn't even move... but then again, part of the reason she couldn't was also because two really muscly guys were holding her down..._

_Finally, Mr. Mantle stopped in his pacing and grinned a twisted sort of grin, a hand on his chin and his eyes now coming down to look at the girl his thoughts had just been focused on..._

_"Well, well, it's nice of you to join us." He smirked._

_Helga snorted. "I've been in here for the last twenty minute, you moron, just sitting here while you paced back and forth. Will you cut this stupid act already and just tell me why you decided to play mobster on the single most important night of my life?" She spat at him, her scowl still set firmly on her face._

_Despite her quite angrily said words, Mr. Mantle's smirk only broadened, clearly enjoying this power he had over her. "Sure, why not?" He shrugged, a bit too compliantly if you asked Helga, though Mr. Mantle really did just want to cut to the chase and have his revenge already... His smirk evolved into an evil smile, and he walked over to 'his' desk over on the other side of the room and began rooting around in one of the drawers as he spoke, "Well, I'm sure you know why you're here. You ratted me out, and I'm angry and want revenge. And I intend on getting it, which is exactly why I've had you join us in here today."_

_Helga's anger subsided slightly and was replaced with a touch of confusion, not quite sure what he was talking about, and she had to just raise one side of her eyebrow at his words. "'Ratted you out'? What are you-"_

_"Now, now, dear." Mr. Mantle interrupted, some of the anger he'd been trying to hold back coming out in his tone, and he walked back across the room over to where she was seated on the couch, whatever it was he'd been searching for clasped in his hand that was currently behind his back. "We can always talk later. For now, I just need you to relax, okay? I'm not going to hurt you... Well, in a sense, I suppose I will be, but I won't be 'physically' harming you, so don't worry." He smiled smoothly, doing his best to put aside his anger for now. Him suddenly blowing up in her face and getting her all worked up wouldn't do... Or at least, that's what it had said in the book..._

_Helga's raised side of her eyebrow remained, really not sure what he was getting at, and really hoping he'd shut up and get it over with so she could just go back to the restaurant and hopefully finish their conversation. "Okay, great... so you're not going to hurt me. Wonderful. But before we do this could I just ask you what it is you think I-"_

_"Shhh..." Mr. Mantle hushed her, his hand coming out from behind his back suddenly and revealing what it was that was in his hand... He swung the watch back and forth in front of her face. "You are getting very sleepy... very very sleepy..."_

_Helga's eyes followed the watch, feeling herself suddenly become quite dazed, and her thoughts and everything suddenly ceased as her head fell back on the couch..._

***Flashback***

Helga growled, these memories from right before she passed out coming to mind. So... she'd been hypnotized again, eh? She really was tired of her mind being tampered with by people she didn't trust... But that was the only memory she had. She had no recollection of what had been going on for the past who-knew-how-long. She just remembered the watch, passing out, and then the next thing she knew, she was tied up in the mayor's office again with duck tape spread across her mouth and... Wait a minute... she knew that smell... that smell that had been forever ingrained in her brain ever since she'd first had the pleasure of smelling it... that smell that intoxicated her to the brink of insanity... "Marnol!" Came from her 'still taped' mouth, though it came out a little odd sounding since her voice was muffled and everything, but what she'd meant to say was 'Arnold.' Her eyes darted over and came to see her best friend beside her, followed by Gerald sitting next to her, and then there he was, her beloved little football headed hero, all tied up and with duck tape over his own mouth... and then next to HIM was some guy she didn't know the name of but did know was the mayor of Hillwood...

What in the name of creation had gone on while she'd been out?

* * *

**A/N: **Believe it or not, this story is almost over. Only maybe two to three chapters to go, and voila! I can't believe I'm almost done! With my first ever story and baby! *Bawls emotionally* It's just too much for me to handle... *Dies*

XD

But seriously, yup, almost done... yup...

Anywho, ya'll know the drill...

_**REVIEW!**_


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N**: Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ all for being so patient with me! I'm so grateful to be writing for such a kind, patient, easygoing fandom! I know I can be insufferable and I'm easily distracted sometimes, but you've all been so sweet. It's been a bumpy road getting here, but here's the wrap-up. I was going to have a couple more chapters, but, well… I think it's become abundantly clear that I should quit while I'm still _barely_ ahead. ^^" I've tried to make this worth the wait, though. My inspiration for this has been very dead for a while now, but I've done my best to resurrect it so you guys can have a proper ending. I mean, don't want this to end up like… well, you know, the _second movie_. *Clears throat* o_o That would be cruel and unusual… Which I am sometimes, but not this time. XD

You know what's sad? This might have actually been a pretty interesting story if it didn't look like it was written by a hyperactive eight year old. *Facepalm* But then again, when have I ever _not been_ a hyperactive eight year old? xD But still, I don't want to write like one… Ah well. *Plays flute while skipping off to war*

So without further adieu, here is the final chapter of "Hypnotizing Helga!"

*Rubs face* Thank _God_…

**Disclaimer**: Brah, dude, buddy, seriously now… the only thing I own here is my lack of pride, and these buffalo wings I got jammed halfway down my throat. Ya dig?

* * *

**Hypnotizing Helga**

**Chapter 18**

"Law number one-hundred and twenty-eight: along with Girl Scout chocolate turtles being forever banned, so are the Girl Scouts. Those stupid accents they put on are banned too. If I hear so much as one more, 'Aye, lad, you gotta buy some tartles!' I'll 'tartle' them into the ground!"

Arnold rolled his eyes, wishing his hands were untied so he could run them down his face. He'd been at this for twenty minutes or so now, but it felt more like twenty years. His demands just continued to get dumber and dumber. Although, Arnold couldn't help but kinda agree with his last demand. He had always hated those fake accents the Camp Fire Lasses put on. But still, you couldn't just tell them to stop it. That would be rude. You were supposed to complain about it behind doors, and secretly roll your eyes when in their presence. That was the only polite way to deal with it.

But really, who cared about that anymore? Who cared about chocolate turtles, or Hardy Boy books, or mastering arcade games, or heck, even Saturday morning cartoons with Sugar Chunks cereal? All that seemed so far away now, like a million years had passed.

Everything had changed after FTi. Suddenly he wasn't a kid anymore. He'd always been a mature person, growing up in the boarding house forced him to be, but he clung to the little bit of childhood he had. He always tried to remind himself when things got tough that he was only a nine-year-old, and he had his entire life ahead of him. But after FTi, he knew he couldn't just be a kid anymore. He had to own up to the fact someone felt a very grown up, albeit kind of overly obsessive, love for him, and he had to deal with that. Then the next thing he knew he'd gone from wondering when the next Pop Daddy episode was coming on to trying to figure out how to steal a kiss from someone who, only a few months ago, had been threatening to rip out his spleen. It was madness.

And now here he was, tied up, helpless, and with his best friend, his best friend's crush, the mayor of Hillwood, and the love of his ten-year-old life unconscious and mentally unwell at his side, while a none-too-intelligent mad man rambled on live television. All that effort he'd put into trying to be grown up for Helga, and putting on the suit and getting the reservations and forcing himself to stay in line with her at school so their date would be perfect, and it had all lead to this. He didn't feel like a grown up. He just felt like a failure. A helpless little kid being forced to watch yet another aspect of his life burn.

No matter how hard he tried when it came to Helga, in the end, he was always shot down. He tried to be her friend, he'd get a death threat. He tried to lead her down the right path and give her good advice, he'd get a blank stare and a death threat. He tried to figure out why she mauled him on a rooftop and professed her undying love, he'd get a blank stare, a shove, and a _big_ death threat. But he'd finally felt like he was getting somewhere with her, like things were looking up for them. Things had suddenly gotten so easy. Out of nowhere, something he thought would be insurmountably, unbearably difficult to figure out had been the easiest thing in the world. But then it'd turned out she'd been hypnotized, she jumped to conclusions, and next thing he knew she was gone and he was sitting at home paralyzed. It was almost too perfect. That was just typical Helga, wasn't it? She'd lead you on, have you feeling all light-hearted and happy like you finally had her figured out and life was perfect, and then _snap_, you were back in the alligator pit floating downstream straight towards Hades lair.

Helga… Helga Pataki. He was in love with Helga Pataki. Helga _G_. Pataki. With all the adrenaline and excitement it hadn't really managed to sink in until now. He'd been acting crazy, and now look where he was. Had he completely lost his mind? What kind of a person threw down everything and risked his life to save a girl he'd only just recently come to care for? And the most infuriating part yet was, that he didn't even regret it. He would've done it all over again had he gotten the chance. Even if he hadn't admitted to loving her, he would have come. Not because of some moral reasoning in his head that they were friends, or because it was one of his classmates and he felt obligated, but simply because it was _Helga_. Even when she was his bully she was important to him. And now that he was in love with her, he really had to question, had his falling for her really been all that sudden? It was so complicated.

He didn't understand why everything in his life had to be so difficult. With Helga especially, he'd always felt particularly frustrated. This was the entire reason he ignored her all the time. She was just an added wrinkle on his forehead that he didn't need. For that reason it'd always been easy to disregard her. But now, he couldn't do that anymore. He couldn't disregard her. She'd finally pushed the one button he couldn't just pop back into place. She had him, and the universe hated him, and he was miserable, furious, and exhausted all at once.

It just wasn't _fair_.

'_Life isn't fair_,' he thought to himself, looking down at his lap forlornly. '_I can't even look on the bright side right now. There isn't any bright side to this crazy situation. I try and I try, and it always just blows up in my face. I'm not some big action hero, I'm just Arnold. I don't know what I was thinking with jumping into this mess. Heck, if it weren't for Helga, I never would have managed to save the neighborhood in the first place_._ I'm just another useless pawn in this game._' He gave a big sigh through his nose and closed his eyes. '_Oh, Helga, if only I had some sort of sign_.'

There was a sudden shift in the room, and the distinct sound of struggling and grunting.

His eyes snapped open and flew to his left, along with his friends,' and they stared in shock as Helga struggled against her bonds. Her eyes were darting all around in panic, clearly disoriented. It wasn't long before her eyes came to Mr. Mantle and she stopped. Her eyes burst into hot flames and she growled, the duct tape over her mouth serving as a poor silencer. She stayed like this a moment before her eyes widened and she froze a mere moment, before her eyes snapped straight to his. "Marnol!" Her eyes shifted over to Phoebe, Gerald, and the mayor then and her eyes grew even wider.

Arnold couldn't help it. Excited, muffled words started bursting from his throat. Phoebe as well seemed very relieved, and a couple surprised squeaks popped out of her like a teakettle.

Helga looked from them all before her eyes came predictably back to Arnold's. She looked lost. Lost and furious. It took only a second for Arnold to realize she was reflecting back his same emotions not a few moments ago. He knew it wasn't a good thing that she felt that way, but he found himself comforted. He tried to communicate a smile at her through his eyes.

Mr. Mantle had other plans, though. His dark eyes that had been staring at her since she awoke darted back to the camera as he rolled up his list once more. "We'll continue this a bit later. In the meantime, uh… enjoy our feature presentation!" He turned around then and rushed over to a couple men sitting in plushy chairs near the door. He pulled them up, pushed them in front of the camera and said, "Dance you smelly fools! Dance!"

The two men just stood frozen a few moments before sharing a look and shrugging. They both broke into dance. One had decided he was going to do the robot while the other was apparently in more of a jolly old jig mood, and the one ended up punching the other in the face by accident. This ended the dance party abruptly and erupted in a slap fight.

Mantle opened his mouth like he was about to protest but then he just waved it off. "Oh, forget it." He wandered over to where Helga was to stand in front of her, his eyes narrowed. "Awake, I see. Isn't that special?"

Helga gave him an indifferent look before heaving herself back and propelling her legs straight up to hit between his legs. He shot up straighter than a board, his face contorted, and a high-pitched hiss was forced from his mouth. A moment later he was on the ground in a ball.

Helga stood, her hands and feet still tied, and hopped over to stand over his pained, stiff form. She let out the best scream she could with her eyes filled with blind rage, and even through the thick duct tape over her mouth it was painful to hear. She then jumped up only to smash her body into him with as much momentum as she could produce, causing him to unleash a rippling howl.

The two men still in front of the camera were frozen and watching in awe of this. Rather than trying to help the situation, though, the one looked at the other and grinned before kicking him in the groin and then dog piling on top of him. Arnold and the rest of those still held captive stared in utter shock.

'_Helga's back_,' they all thought, almost in unison.

"Whoa, he's going to feel that in the morning, and the morning after that, too," the mayor muttered out of nowhere, eyes wide.

All eyes snapped to him and he looked at them. The duct tape was hanging purposelessly from the side of his face, and he arched an amused brow at them. Smiling slightly, he whispered, "Come now, you didn't think they'd just give me such a powerful job without teaching me how to get out of a hostage situation, did you?"

They all just blinked at him, unable to speak.

The mayor hopped up and bounced over in front of the camera, just behind the two men on the floor stiff with pain. He looked straight into the camera's lense, perhaps a 'tad' too closely. His face was close enough everyone watching could probably see every pore and lash and hair on his face. Not moving even a little, he began, his message being sent to every scared, confused citizen in Hillwood, "Now, stay calm, everyone. I know this looks bad but we have everything under control. And I really hope this doesn't affect my still somewhat new position as your Mayor. I mean, Dixie almost tore down an entire neighborhood and had to be stopped by a few little children, but this isn't anything—"

Mr. Mantle, who was still on the floor and had managed to kick Helga away from him, crawled his aching body over to grab onto the mayor's ankle and pull him down. He flopped onto the floor like a pancake and his head hitting the floor knocked him unconscious. Mantle huffed at him, furious at the spectacle this had all caused. Taking a few moments to find the strength in him to pull himself off the floor, he stood and straightened up his suit, patting out the wrinkles as best he could with that blackness still whispering at the corners of his eyes.

Once he could feel his lower half again instead of that dull, unbearable ache, his sense returned to him and he blinked away the residual pain-stricken stars in his eyes. As soon as he did, fury gripped him. He grabbed Helga off the floor and held her in front of himself, grounding each word out like he was trying to turn diamonds to dust, "After everything you've done to me, you add this on top of it all? I don't get it. What did I ever do to you to deserve this kind of treatment? I put you back into your normal state of mind, I even looked the other way when you insulted me. But no, you had to punish me, take away my home, my only source of stability, and throw me out on the streets!" His voice had reached near-screaming at this point, and tears began to stream unwittingly down his poreless, ghost white face. Helga's once hateful blue eyes widened with shock, disbelieving at the sight before her.

"Stop!" a voice called out suddenly, sounding far away and quite muffled. It sounded as if it had come from outside. If it weren't for the window open at the other side of the room, they might not have heard it at all.

Emotions still raging, Mr. Mantle ripped across the room, pulling Helga along at his side, and threw the window open wider so he could look outside.

Down amongst the crowds of people, by the police cars with a bullhorn in hand, was no other than Mr. Simmons, waving his arms frantically, almost looking as if he were trying to fly up into the air like a helicopter. Holding the bullhorn back to his face, he yelled, "You do not have to do this! You have it all wrong!"

Mantle rolled his eyes, the angry tears thankfully beginning to dry, though he doubted anyone down there could see when he was an entire story higher than them. Still, it was a struggle keeping his voice normal, "Oh _really now_? Is that so, Sir Special Sparkles?" He growled, not at all happy with seeing the one man who's hiring him had changed his life for the worse.

Mr. Simmons faltered only a moment, before continuing on and saying, "Um, well, yes! You see, Helga wasn't the one to turn you in! I was!"

And just like that, the world ended. Fire and brimstone rained from the heavens, a thousand seas crashed over major cities and killed millions upon millions of people all at once, ripping them limb from limb, entire buildings fell to the ground as if they were constructed of tissue paper, and the entire planet cracked clear in two.

Anyway, back on Earth, Mr. Mantle was just barely managing to pull himself from some place very dark and uncomfortably wet. He mumbled at first, before his voice suddenly turned to a shout, making Helga wince, "_What_?"

Mr. Simmons repeated as clearly as he could, "I was the one who turned you in, not Helga!"

The perfect little sack of flesh under Mr. Mantle's eyes twitched. He could barely comprehend basic speech. "You're… You're lying! You were completely clueless! You didn't know I was a fake! No one did!"

Mr. Simmons tried to be patient with the man. "Well, to be fair, it wasn't all that hard to figure out. Once I saw Helga so unlike her usual special self later on, and thought back to how unprofessional you were and how phony your act sounded, I told Principal Wartz of my suspicions! Now, I'd never have expected him to—" He paused, blinking. "Okay, strike that. But my point is, it was all just a big misunderstanding! You don't have to do this!"

Mr. Mantle stared down at him, confusion driving him mad. He slowly turned his head to look at Helga's relieved, angry face, before dragging his eyes back down to look at the middle aged man in the midst of all the cops. He couldn't handle the truth. The blinding guilt that was beginning to grip at him was violently forced back and he screeched, "_You're lying_!" before slamming the window shut and pulling the blinds.

The room now enveloped in shadowed darkness, Mantle turned sharply around and let Helga fall from his grasp. She fell hard on her side, but he paid her no mind. He made short work of the room and was in front of the door before anyone could blink, pulling at the doorknob.

The homeless men lying on the floor pushed themselves up, both looking beseechingly at their leader, and one spoke, "Mayor Mantle, where are you going?"

Mr. Mantle didn't respond, merely continued to pull at the knob desperately until it occurred to him you were supposed to _turn_ doorknobs, not pull. His hands fumbled to do so quickly, and the door flew open.

And there stood a straggle bearded, gray beanie-wearing Max, standing tall and intimidating, with metallic eyes aflame.

Mr. Mantle freaked, stumbling backward in shock, as if he'd just opened the door to the underworld, before tripping over the two guys on the floor and falling onto his back. He scrambled up to sit quick, staring in horror as Max walked slowly into the room.

The two homeless men on the ground quickly scrambled as well, only away from Mantle, shame leading them.

Max observed them both with saddened eyes, until they hardened once more and fell upon Mr. Mantle.

Desperate for something, _anything_ to happen, Mr. Mantle spluttered out, "M-Max, hey, buddy, long time no s-see. I-I was just—"

"Shut," Max said simply, snapping his hand shut beside his mouth, and Mantle obeyed. "Where are the rest of them?"

Mantle kept his eyes on the ground, and answered quietly, "Guarding the perimeter… Or, I told them to do that, but they're probably all off eating." He sighed slightly.

Max exhaled, before shaking his head in awe at this grand mess. "I can't believe you did this. What is wrong with you?"

Mr. Mantle kept his head down for a few more moments, unable to respond. His head snapped up then and he asked, "_How are you even here_?"

Before Max had a chance to respond, Fred suddenly stepped into the room and walked over to stand next to the bearded man.

Mantle gawked. "_Fred_?"

The black-belted man in question rolled his eyes and asked, "You didn't seriously think I was going to let you get away with this did you? You may have been able to play the food card on the rest but you can't do that with me. I have very hard concentration." He pulled out a turkey leg from behind his back then and took a bite, speaking with his half full mouth, "Plus I may be homeless but I'm not broke." He rolled his eyes and threw the turkey leg at Mr. Mantle, making him flinch, before walking over to untie the children.

Mr. Mantle balked at all this. "But what about revenge—"

Max crossed the room swiftly, and lifted Mantle up by his collar, his fists turning white as he glared intensely. "Revenge is only for those that are too _weak_ and _cowardly_ to just walk away and _move on_. You compromised not only yourself in this foolish endeavor, but also made an idiot out of practically every homeless man and woman in the entire _city_. Do you not realize what you've _done_?"

Mantle quivered in his grasp, terror stealing any vestige of self-control and confidence he'd had left. "I-I was only trying to stand up for myself, for everyone—"

"There," Max growled, "is a fine line between standing up for yourself and being a complete _moron_. You may think you've gotten your little 'revenge' now, but you sacrificed every ounce of self-respect and dignity you had left."

Fred rolled his eyes again from across the room, his anger increasing, while gently pulling back the duct tape from Phoebe's mouth. "Which wasn't much, you dirty liar."

Max let the handsome man go then, standing up straight as he glowered down at him. "You're not worth it."

Fred turned around suddenly, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "He's worth it to me." He jumped on the horrified Mr. Mantle then, causing the man to scream in fear and pain. The other two homeless men that were on the floor quickly stood up and ran out the door, scared for their lives.

Max shook his head at the scene, before walking over to finish untying the kids. Letting the rather tight knot loose from Arnold's bondage, he then ripped the duct tape off his mouth in one sharp movement. Arnold cried out, and Max smiled apologetically. "Hope you weren't ever planning on growing a mustache," he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Arnold let out a shaky breath, half in pain, half in relief, before opening his eyes wide and throwing himself at the man. Max stumbled slightly at the unexpected hug, but it was over in half a second. Next thing Arnold had sprinted across the room to where Helga was still laying on the floor, and made short work of the ropes. Helga pushed herself up off the floor then and sat up weakly, her mind still in a tizzy at all that had happened in such a short time. Arnold only had one thought on his mind, though. In a swift, quick movement he pulled the duct tape off her mouth, making her scream. In order to silence his pain at having to do that to her and her scream, Arnold quickly grabbed her and gave her a gentle kiss.

Helga immediately stopped in her squirming and stilled, her eyes bolting open. She inquired oh-so eloquently against his mouth, "_Hmmm_?"

Arnold pulled back for only a moment, barely moving a breath away, and said quite plainly, "I love you."

Helga's eyes widened, her heart going at time traveling speeds. "W-What? That's not—"

"Oh, shut up, Helga," Arnold interrupted her softly with burning eyes, wrapping his arms around her in a vice-like grip. "I have to get this out of me before something _else_ crazy happens, like Curly bursts down from the ceiling, or you forget me again, or Big Bob finds us, or-or-or—Oh, forget it. I just love you. _Deal_." He grabbed her face in his hands again and pulled her lips to his forcefully, passion and relief overflowing. Helga melted at the gesture, despite her eyes still being open and her confusion evident.

A sudden gagging was heard across the room, and Arnold and Helga pulled back to look and see Gerald, now free from his bonds, pretending to violently throw up with Phoebe giggling at his side.

Arnold and Helga rolled their eyes at the same time, before Arnold kissed her again, adding to her already muddled countenance.

Mr. Mantle just screamed some more from the other side of the room, something breaking, undoubtedly, as a painful snap was heard that echoed across the room.

Suddenly, the door burst open again and there stood the entire Camp Fire Lass troop, their faces red with rage.

"No more chocolate tartles, eh," their leader said lowly, accent thicker than ever. "It's _Camp Fire Lasses_, ya numpty! We are in no affiliation with the Girl Scouts! Never have been, _never_ will be! We are an independent organization, ya daft twit!" She unleashed a shrill battle cry then, waving her arms. "GET 'IM!"

With that, Camp Fire Lass after Camp Fire Lass barreled into the room and threw themselves on top of Mr. Mantle, each causing a new shriek of pain out of him.

Despite everything that was going on, Helga smirked.

* * *

Big Bob stumbled sleepily out of the closet he'd been thrown in and threw himself around Helga, making her stiffen at his abnormally affectionate gesture. "Oh, Helga," Bob wept, "thank creation, you're okay!"

Helga blinked in bafflement and slight discomfort, feeling deeply touched. "U-Uh, gee, Bob, I… Dad, what are you doing here?"

Bob pulled back, his eyes still fogged from the tranquilizer but the effects of the sedative thankfully mostly worn off. He said almost angrily, his voice gruff and caring, "Why _wouldn't_ I be here, for Pete's sake? You're my daughter!" He stopped suddenly, eyeing her with scrutiny. "You _are_ my daughter, right?" He thought back to how she was hypnotized.

Helga couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, Dad, it's me."

Bob let out a hulking breath of relief. "Thank the mother. What crap was this mess, huh?" He laughed awkwardly, still unnerved by everything that had happened. He couldn't believe he'd been taken down so easily. That was entirely too close a call for his liking.

Helga laughed along with him, equally unnerved, though for different reasons. Not wanting to hear anymore and feeling quite overwhelmed, she threw her arms around him and snuggled deep into his camouflaged shirt. Bob stiffened at this, until a heavy dose of parental instinct and love hit him and he hugged her back, touched.

* * *

Police scoured the house for evidence of all that had gone down, and had questioned all the hostages as thoroughly as was in their power, until finally they were free to go. As the kids walked out of the building, they caught sight of the long line of homeless people being handcuffed and hauled off to jail.

Amongst the long string was Mr. Mantle, limping and leaning heavily on some crutches as he tried talking to them.

Lenny had just been cuffed and was walking down the line, waiting his turn to be put into the large police van and taken away. Upon seeing Mr. Mantle, that crazed glint in his eye was increased tenfold, and he scowled.

"Lenno, listen—" Mantle tried.

Lenny pulled his cuffed hands back before slapping him across the face. He yelled, "Call me Lenny!" An officer ran over quick and pulled the mentally unstable man away, as he shrieked in protest. He would no doubt have to be put into an insane asylum.

Max walked out of the building after them, and smilingly led the children away from the scene, not wanting them to have to witness anymore violence. "Kids, hey," he began, catching their attention, "you all okay?"

Helga could barely contain herself. She growled and burst out, gesturing to her wrinkled and ruined dress and messed up hair, "Do we LOOK okay to you?"

Arnold interjected, feeling endlessly grateful to the man, "We're fine, really. Just a little shaken up." He glanced at Helga. She looked away quick, still confused by him.

Gerald grumbled, "I beg to differ. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm with Helga on this one. I did _not_ sign up for all that. This has been one of the most exhausting days of my entire life."

"Same here," Helga mumbled testily.

"I'm afraid I have to concur," Phoebe said, adjusting her cracked glasses in an attempt to see better.

"Well I'm not saying it wasn't hard," Arnold said in slight exasperation, his own exhaustion beginning to weigh down on him as he drooped.

"Yeah, tonight was probably hardest on you, man," Gerald said with some concern, patting him on the back. A sly smile lit up on his face then and he nudged him. "Not that you haven't been taking advantage of things cooling down finally."

Arnold blushed.

"Well," Max said then, amused, "I'm just glad everything is over." His shoulders dropped then and he sighed heavily. "I do wish it hadn't happened at _all_, though. People are already prejudiced against homeless people, the last thing we needed was something like this."

Helga blinked, looking over at all the dirty people that were heading off to the big house. "Well, they have a home now, _technically_. That is if they don't give them the chair."

Phoebe hit her in the stomach with her elbow, effectively shutting her up before she said anything else.

"You there," a male voice suddenly called from behind them, and Max turned around in confusion.

It was the mayor, untied now, though with a rather painful looking goose egg on his head. He didn't seem concerned by it, though, as he marched purposefully over to where Max was standing. At first Max was worried he was planning on arresting him too for associating with the criminal hobos, but when the man reached him he outstretched his hand and smiled widely. "Are you the man that started the 'Home for the Homeless'?"

Max eyed his hand a second before cautiously taking his hand and shaking it, nodding his head. "Yeah…"

Mayor Robert Josephson grinned his bright, perfect teeth at him, the ones that won him the election. "It is an _honor_. I've heard very good things about you. A shame you had to be closed down so abruptly."

Max's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "_Closed down_?"

The mayor looked at him confusedly. "Well, yes, I just assumed. All your alleged 'homeless' are being hauled away as we speak, after all. Your home is nothing more than an empty basement now, I'm afraid."

Max stared at him, blank faced and dead eyed. Finally, he spoke, point blank, "I wasn't gaining _profit_ from it, Mr. Mayor. Whether or not there is an abundance in homeless people or not is irrelevant. I will not be closing down anything."

The mayor smiled at him, more sincerely now. "See, that's the exact attitude that makes you such a swell guy. I heard you even took in my brother." He rolled his eyes then, his carefully crafted confident countenance melting away at the mere mention. "Now that, right there, proves you're far more patient a man than I." He grinned charmingly then, back to business. "Which is why I would like to make the 'Home for the Homeless' a reality once more. A _real_ reality. See, there's an abandoned orphanage not too far from here that would be perfect. Nice place, big building—very old, though, but that can be corrected with a few renovations…"

Max stared at him bulgy-eyed. "What are you saying?"

The mayor straightened himself, stating more seriously, "I'm saying I would like to make you the owner of a homeless shelter. A real one, not some dark, damp basement in some family's house. The details would have to be ironed out, of course, but I think the idea is brilliant." He smiled. "What do you say, Mr…?"

"Maxwell," Max said suddenly, his back straightening and old business instincts kicking back in after spending many years dormant, "Maxwell Sheffield." He grinned, the name sliding off his tongue riddled with cobwebs but feeling so good to finally be able to say again.

The mayor grinned back. "Fantastic. I'd be more than honored to have you stay at a good friend of mine's house while we get all the details sorted."

Max sighed ecstatically, nodding his head. "Sounds wonderful." He turned around then, suddenly grabbing off his gray beanie and sliding it onto Helga's head, revealing to the world his graying, fluffy brown locks. He smiled at Helga kindly, adjusting the hat on her head as she stared at him wide-eyed. "Keep that safe for me, Sweetheart. It's my lucky beanie."

Helga pulled it off her head with an almost offended jerk, staring at the surprisingly clean and soft hat with aghast eyes. "Then why don't you keep it?" she asked in disgust.

Max chuckled. "Something tells me I won't be needing it anymore. I gained all the luck I needed. It's lasted me through a lot of rough times." He bent down and smiled at her. "Enjoy it. Who knows? Maybe it'll help you out one day too." He stood back up then and turned back to the mayor. "Now then," he began smoothly, "about where my good friend, Fred, will be staying…" The two men walked off into the crowd of police officers and flashing lights, having many things to discuss.

Helga just eyed the old, gray beanie with suspicious eyes, muttering sarcastically, "I heavily doubt that… All this could ever give me is a bad case of lice and some rare, irreversible diseases…"

"Helga," Arnold's voice suddenly came from beside her, and she unconsciously gripped the beanie tighter. "Helga, do you think we could talk?"

"We're talking now," she grumbled quietly, not making eye contact.

"I mean _alone_," Arnold hinted, his eyes shifting over to look at Gerald and Phoebe.

Gerald caught it and held his hands up, closing his eyes. "All right, man, I get it. We'll leave you two be. Come on, Phoebe." He turned slightly to walk away, smiling at Phoebe with inviting eyes.

"Yes, well," Phoebe started uncertainly, her eyes darting between Gerald and Helga before she flew forward suddenly and enveloped Helga in a tight hug. "I'm glad you're okay, Helga," she squeaked.

Helga, greatly surprised, caught the small girl in the hug and returned it weakly, confusion shaking her softened voice, "I-I'm glad, too, Pheebs…"

The two embraced for a few more seconds before Phoebe pulled back, big eyes smiling. "Good luck, Helga." She winked discreetly, hiding a giggle, before jetting over to grab Gerald by the hand and practically dragging him away.

Helga narrowed her eyes at her retreating form. "Traitor," she muttered, seething.

A warm hand was suddenly slipped into hers, and Helga was pleasantly thrown back into reality as Arnold pulled her farther away from the chaos. She absentmindedly tucked the beanie away in her shirt.

"I was really hoping for this moment to be more romantic," Arnold confessed softly, smiling sheepishly. "But I guess at this point, beggars can't be choosers, huh?"

Helga stared at him, thoroughly overwhelmed by him and the memory of his insistent lips on hers. She shivered at the thought, before stating bluntly, "I have no freaking idea what the heck is going on with you."

Arnold's eyes widened at the verbose statement, before he raised an incredulous eyebrow and pulled her face down to his, so she was forced to witness the affection in his eyes. "I don't know why, Helga, I thought I'd made myself very clear before."

Helga, stiff from his touch, had a sudden shudder run through her entire body. She closed her eyes. "I-I didn't think…"

"I know," Arnold said, breath hot on her lips and nearly killing her, "I remember from the restaurant… You really thought I went to all that trouble just to say I have a crush?"

"You did with Ruth."

"I was a child then."

Helga's eyes snapped open, and she stared at him in disbelief. "Oh, and you're not _now_?"

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, point taken. But this is different."

"Because you love me," Helga deadpanned, working to look unimpressed.

Arnold eyed her, before narrowing his eyes and putting an arm around her back, pushing her closer. "No, I do not '_love you_,'" he said, imitating her flat, dead tone of voice before his eyes softened and he said more dearly, "I _love_ you."

Helga's breath hitched. She suddenly wretched herself away from him, hands shaking, and stumbled to put some distance between them. "Oh you do, do you?" she asked coldly, though her voice trembling tampered with the effect.

Arnold looked at her, eyes widened and heart still pounding. He huffed, frustrated now. He didn't want to play games anymore. He just wanted her. Now, before anything happened. Fate was clearly at odds with them and he didn't want to waste even a nanosecond more. "Yes, Helga, I _do_. I really do. How paranoid could you be to assume that I just had a crush on you after all this?" He crossed the distance in a bound and grabbed her shoulders, making sure she couldn't escape again. "I love you. Okay? I always knew there was goodness in you but after you were hypnotized I—"

"_See_?" The words were so hot with anger they practically burned on her lips. "That right there! That's the keyword! _Hypnotized_. You fell for me when I wasn't even _me_."

"But you _were_," he argued just as hotly. "It was you, Helga. You were sarcastic and clever and outspoken, but you were also so… so _nice_."

"Ha," she mumbled bitterly, eyes hardening. "Right, because the only way you could ever care about me is if I was some perfect little Mary Sunshine—"

"Helga!" Arnold suddenly let go of her and walked away, throwing his arms up. "Yes! Yes, I like it when you're nice!" He turned around, upset and shoulders stiff. "I like it when you're sweet and kind and caring and honest. What is _so_ wrong with that? I was already attracted to how passionate and fiery you were—heck, I'm attracted even _now_—but I also like it when you let your kinder side show. I like it when you're not so guarded up and… and like _this_." He gestured to her with his arms outstretched.

Helga's shoulders shook. It was too much. Too much to take in. "O-Okay…" she managed, voice slightly breathy before gaining in strength as her anger began to burn once more, "s-so w-what? You o-only like me when I'm not defensive? I'm this way for a _reason_, Football Head."

"_Why_?" he asked, anger subsiding as he stepped over to her, his love and natural caring instincts leading him. "Why do you have to be so defensive? Didn't you see how much everyone liked you when you were just yourself? When you weren't hiding?" He looked at her imploringly.

Helga swallowed hard, her mind at a loss for a response. She desperately grasped for a reason he was wrong, a reason to be angry with him—anything. She could handle anger. This… This she didn't have the first clue to how to deal with.

Seeing he had her, Arnold brought a hand up to sweep across her cheek, making her twitch. "Helga, people care. I care. You just saw tonight how much people care about you, didn't you? Your dad was going crazy when he found out you were missing. Your sister was in hysterics. Phoebe and even Gerald were worried out of their minds…" He swallowed dryly, confessing earnestly, "I was going out of my mind…"

As she still didn't respond, Arnold sighed and withdrew his hand. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, Helga. I know this must all be a lot to take in, and your head's probably all messed up after all you've been through. I've been selfish. I never took a moment to think about how you must feel, I—"

"No," Helga said suddenly, her soft voice determined. "No, you've been perfect. A perfect angel… You're always a perfect angel." She took a small, measured step towards him then, making Arnold freeze as he took in her words. Her eyes gleamed as she considered. "You're never selfish, Arnold. Not a day in your life. _I'm_ the selfish one. I… I've been an idiot." She looked down.

"No, I under—"

"_Shhhh_…" She suddenly put her hand over his mouth, silencing his protest. "It's okay, Arnold. I have been, it's just hard to admit to. I-I mean," she scoffed, "here all this time I thought I was protecting myself from some evil force. Then I wake up one day and, _poof_," she shrugged, "I'm forced to realize I've been freaking out over nothing." She gulped. "I mean, I try to be tough, but I don't know how to do it." She laughed, looking at him amusingly. "Can you imagine all this time I've just been copying Big Bob? As if _that'll_ make me scary?" She rolled her eyes, thinking of the big talking blowhard that was her father.

Arnold's eyes fell half-lidded, unable to point out that he actually was _very scary_ and she had done a very good job at replicating the effect.

Helga sighed dramatically, shaking her head. "So now you know my deep, dark secret… I'm not evil."

Arnold pushed her hand away from his face. "Duh—"

"No, no!" She shoved her hand over his mouth again, silencing him again. "Not another word! My love, I have been so cruel to you. Torturing you with love like I've been, doing everything in my power as a dominant female to make you crack whilst you only meant to make my dreams come true. What agony you must have been in all this time. My poor, sweet prince." She brought a hand up to run through his hair, pushing it back. "What a fool I've been…"

Arnold shuddered at her words and touch, closing his eyes involuntarily.

Helga took this as her cue and let go off his mouth, quickly seizing it as her own.

Arnold turned to hot licorice, his face warming to a soft red hue.

"Uh…"

Helga pulled back from Arnold's mouth half an inch, just enough to growl. She didn't even open her eyes. "_Not now_, Brainy… _Leave now_ and _maybe,_ I will spare your life…"

Suddenly, a deep throat cleared. "Um, I'm fairly certain my name isn't Brainy…"

Both kids' eyes popped open at the same time, and they both let out a heavy breath of panic. In a flash, Arnold was pushing Helga behind him and taking steps backward, a dark scowl on his face. "_Get away_…"

Mr. Mantle looked at them wide-eyed and with an unnerving vulnerability about him. It was probably the crutch he was leaning on. "I'm not going to do anything." He scoffed, coughing out a nervous tittering laugh. "I couldn't even if I wanted. There are police everywhere, remember?" He held up his hands then, bringing the handcuffs on his hands to their attention. "I'm all tied up…"

The kids observed all this before Arnold spit at his feet. "I don't care! Get away…" he warned lowly, eyes narrowed dangerously. Behind him, Helga swooned. It made him straighten slightly, proud.

Mr. Mantle blinked, before taking a few limping steps back. "Um…" he began unsurely, "better?"

Arnold blinked, having not expected him to actually obey. Curious, he said, "Uh, a few more steps."

Mantle did so, nearly falling in the process but holding tight to the crutch.

Arnold smiled slightly to himself. "A few more."

Mr. Mantle huffed, taking one more careful step back before stating, "Okay, you've had your fun. Look, I'm not going to _do_ anything. I just wanted to say one thing…" He coughed awkwardly. "Can… Can I do that?"

Helga suddenly heaved herself around Arnold and yelled impatiently, "Just spit it out already, I've got spit to swap!" Arnold's face turned bright pink, and he grabbed her back behind him, shushing her.

Mr. Mantle was taken aback, but not as taken aback as Arnold and Helga were when he suddenly broke down. "I-I'm sorry!" he near-screamed, a car alarm going off in the distance. "I just got so angry! I was seeing red when it happened, and suddenly I was reliving the cartoons I used to watch, and I lost _everything_! I didn't even have anything to lose in the first place, but-but-but…" He shuddered hard. "I-I'm sorry…" he whispered, before turning around and limping as fast as he could away from them.

There was a tense silence, only broken by the chattering of policemen and concerned townsfolk. They barely heard them.

Finally, Arnold blinked, shocked. "What was that about?"

Helga was at a loss. So she just shook her head and turned his face towards hers, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Who cares?"

Arnold's eyelids twitched, as if they wanted to close and agree, before he slapped himself suddenly and threw himself away from her. He shook his head. "No, no, no more of that, Helga."

Helga looked at him innocently. "No more of what?"

"Messing with my head," he sighed, rubbing his now sore cheek. "It's hard enough when you're not even _trying_. But I think there's seriously something up with Mr. Mantle."

Helga looked at him as if he'd sprouted a third eye. "Arnold…" she began slowly, "you're talking about the man that just tried to take over Hillwood with a string of threats and lies, who kidnapped me and bound and gagged you, who influenced the man who took down my dad and could have killed him, who just put a ton of starving people in _jail_… Other than the fact he's completely out of his mind, there is nothing _up_ with him." She walked over to him and grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers together. "You can't let bad people take advantage of your good nature, Arnold. Sometimes people really are just as bad as they seem."

Arnold shook his head. "No, there's always a reason, Helga. People aren't just _born_ like that. The change was too drastic anyway. I think losing his home really set him off." Sighing then, he relented with a squeeze of her hand, "But you are right. I don't want to take anymore chances with him, with _anyone_. This entire mess happened way too easily." He turned to her and laced their other hands together, pulling her closer as he grinned lovingly. "And I still owe you a romantic candlelit dinner."

Helga giggled, much to his delight, before she dipped her face to his and smirked. "You bet your shrimpy football headed keister you do."

Arnold grinned at her, until, "Oh!" He suddenly remembered, pulling something out of his pocket. "Um, your bow back," he admitted sheepishly, handing the silken pink ribbon back to her. "Athough I have to admit, you do look _cute_ in blue." He eyed her up and down appreciatively, admiring how well his favorite color suited her.

"Oh yeah," Helga muttered, grasping the ribbon in her hands. At hearing his compliment, though, she felt delight bubble up inside of her and she giggled. "Oh… Oh, you know what? Keep it." She handed it back to him, blushing slightly.

Arnold's eyes widened. "K-Keep it? But Helga… It's your bow!"

Helga scoffed, waving him off. "Oh, please, as if I only have _one_. I have a ton of spares back home. That's not even the original."

Arnold's eyes widened even further at that, his eyes jetting down to observe the perfect ribbon in his hands. "It's not?"

Helga shook her head, laughing at the very idea. "Of course not. The old one's long been falling apart, but I still keep it for… sentimental purposes." She blushed. "Besides, I'd like for you to have something to always remember me by." Her feet shuffled nervously.

There was a moment of silence.

Helga, ashamed of herself for thinking he would want it, tried to save face, "L-Look, if you don't want it, Arnold, it doesn't—"

She stopped mid-sentence when he suddenly brought the material up to his face and inhaled deeply, before letting out a happy sigh. He then wrapped it around his wrist and tied a neat little knot, before looking up at her gratefully. "I love it, Helga. Thank you. But how about I have _you_ to remember you by?" He smirked slightly, chuckling at her shocked face before lacing their fingers together again. "Now come on, let's go get that dinner already. You must be starving."

And with that the two kids walked out into the throng of people in the direction of the boarding house (after concluding that Chez Pierre was indeed haunted by some romance hating evil specter), their hands still tightly interlinked to make sure no one could ever, _ever_ pull them apart again.

**FINITO  
**

***_ROLL CREDITS_***

**BONUS SCENE**

Edward woke up suddenly with a startled snort, slurping up the bathtub of spit that had collected in his mouth as he looked around drearily. The place was ghostly quiet, not a soul in sight. His eyes snapped left to right, disoriented.

Rebecca walked in suddenly. Seeing him there, she let out a drawn out groan and rolled her eyes. "Oh, dear God. _Please_ tell me those idiot police didn't forget you."

Edward looked over to her, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What police?"

Rebecca scoffed. "Typical. Story of my life." She turned and walked away then, unwilling to deal with him.

Edward sat in confusion for a few minutes more, too lazy to get up and see what was going on, when suddenly the doors burst open and in ran a Czechoslovakian man with brown comb over hairdo. He tried to speak, but his breathlessness caught up with him and he had to lean over, panting heavily.

Edward looked over at him, only half-curious. "Uh, are you the police that forgot me?"

Oskar looked over at him, eyes wide. "Eh? What are you talking about?"

Edward barely blinked at hearing the heavy accent. "I don't know. Who are you?"

Oskar stood up, shaking his head. "Who wants to know?" He whined then, "Have you seen my wife? Tall, very pretty, doesn't like making sandwiches?"

Edward shook his head. "Nah." He sat back in his seat then, saying, "If she doesn't like making sandwiches, though, I don't know why she's your wife. That's basically all they're good for." He snickered then. "Well, that and—"

Suzie and Rebecca suddenly walked back in from the hallway, Suzie asking curiously, "I don't know how you manage it, Becky. All these years with him around, calling you all the time, asking for money, a place to stay. How do you deal with it?"

Rebecca blew a rather large bubble, then listlessly answered when it popped, "I tell him 'heck no, rot in a hole,' then hang up."

Suzie gawked at her in awe. "But _how_?"

Rebecca shrugged. "Simple. I didn't marry him."

Suzie stared at her, her head nodding slowly as the realization dawned on her. "Ohhh…"

"Suzie!" Oskar's whiny voice suddenly called, making her stop in her tracks. "I've been looking all over for you! I woke up from my evening nap and everybody was _gone_!"

Suzie looked over at him in surprise, shifting uncomfortably. "Oh, Oskar, I… Well, we all decided last minute that we wanted to go out to eat and you know how grumpy you get if I wake you from one of your naps—"

"_Suzie_!"

Suzie huffed, suddenly defensive as she put her hands on her hips. "Well what was I supposed to do, Oskar? It was all so sudden. And then before we even got to eat poor Helga was kidnapped and everyone was running around in a frenzy, and next thing we knew we were down here in town hall and—How did you even know to come here?" She gawked at him.

Oskar shrugged. "I turned on the TV."

"Ah, of course," Suzie muttered, rolling her eyes slightly to herself, some of Rebecca's tendencies rubbing off on her after the couple hours they'd spent talking.

Oskar snapped his head over to where Edward was lounging back carelessly, irritated and needing someone to take it out on. "Aren't you even going to say something?"

Edward barely looked up at him. "No."

"_Why not_?"

Edward shrugged. "Too lazy to care." He looked over to Suzie and Becky then, clicking his tongue. "Hey, one of you lovely ladies wanna go out and pick me up some subs? Daddy's _starved_."

Before either woman could react, Oskar suddenly twisted his face in utter disgust and yelled, "Hey! That's my wife you're talking to!"

"Oh, Oskar!" Suzie suddenly swooned, clasping her hands together tight in front of herself with sparkling eyes.

"If she's gonna get anyone a sub, it's gonna be _me_! Suzie, get me a sub!"

"Oh, Oskar…" Suzie sighed, excitement drained.

He stormed over and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her towards the door as he glowered at Edward. "Get your own wife! And a _job_!" And with that said, he threw open the doors, and the two were out of sight.

The room was silent a few moments.

"So Becky…" Edward said smoothly, his fingers walking seductively up the armrest.

Rebecca flashed him the bird on her way out of the room. "Rot in a hole, Ed."

* * *

**A/N: **I read the back of a chocolates package after eating every last one of them, and it read, "Do you dream in chocolate?" And I thought to myself, "Why, yes. Yes, I do. How ever did you know?" I liked that thought so much I cut out the words from the back of the package and attached them to my computer monitor. True story.

For anyone who recognizes the name "Maxwell Sheffield"… SOUL MATE! :'D

To celebrate the completion of this monster of a fic, I put on some sunglasses, my pinstriped fedora, and blasted "Bad to the Bone" from my speakers while dancing around like a freaking _boss_.

_**REVIEW!**_


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